Johannesburg, South Africa
702 HOUSES TO BE BUILT AT COSMO CITY
A public-private partnership to build 702 houses for low-income earners in the Cosmo City development in north-western Johannesburg was launched on Thursday.
Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu addressed the launch of the ”pioneering new housing initiative”, a joint venture of Talk Radio 702 and First National Bank (FNB), in association with construction firm M5 Housing and the Gauteng housing department.
The intention is to help address the housing backlog in Gauteng province by providing low-income earners with access to affordable housing.
Cosmo City is a mixed-use, integrated housing development near Kya Sands. The Department of Housing currently provides subsidies for the construction of 9 000 units, 5 000 of which are fully subsidised, 3 000 of which are finance-linked units and 1 000 of which are institutional rental apartments.
The 702 FNB Housing Initiative is part of the finance-linked component of Cosmo City, where people earning between R3 500 and R7 000 per month can apply for an FNB mortgage bond and government housing subsidy to finance their new home.
FNB executive Modise Moatlhodi said the bank realised there was a gap in the low-income housing market and ”developed appropriate solutions to address the shortage of housing stock and lack of access to credit”.
Moatlhodi said the bank has set aside R200-million in end-user finance to enable the people of Cosmo City to own houses.
More flexible lending — such as the bank’s new Smart Bond — will enable ”people earning a single or joint gross monthly income of between R2 500 and R10 000 per month” to own a home.
”We’re very excited to once again be embarking on a project that has the ability to change people’s lives so dramatically,” said Talk Radio 702 station manager Pheladi Gwangwa.
”Housing is a basic human right and we believe that through facilitating access to affordable home loans via this project we’re doing our bit to uplift and empower the community. We pledged during our previous building project that we would increase the number of houses we made available to previously disadvantaged communities from 10 to 702, and we’ve made good on that promise today with the launch of this exciting initiative.”
To qualify for a finance-linked house, applicants should contact FNB on Tel: 0860 644644 with all their details. Thereafter, a pre-screening at the housing department will ascertain whether the applicant qualifies for a finance-linked housing subsidy under this scheme.
If successful, applicants then meet M5 estate agents, completing all the necessary documentation. At this stage in the process it will be established for which size home the applicant has qualified.
The houses will be made available to first-time homeowners only. — Sapa