Sexwale: State must monitor home loans

Johannesburg - The human settlements ministry had a legislated and executive responsibility to monitor banks' lending patterns and ensure there was no discrimination in the awarding of home loans, Minister Tokyo Sexwale said on Monday.
 
"The transformation of our cities and towns, and the broader objective of building a non-racial South Africa, is a priority for this ministry," he said.
 
At the upper end of the housing market, the ministry had a responsibility to ensure there was no discrimination against consumers who were building or buying homes.
 
"This is primarily achieved through the Home Loans and Mortgage Disclosure Act (HLAMDA), which enables us to monitor discriminatory lending practices. In so doing, it also enables us to leverage the creation of more integrated suburbs."

Sexwale added that his ministry was also increasingly active in the "gap market" - assisting people who earn too much to qualify for a government subsidy but don't qualify for bank credit.
 
He outlined the role that the government's R1bn Gap Fund would play in ensuring it meets its target of 600 000 new loans in the affordable housing sector by 2014.
 
"This fund is aimed squarely at nurses, teachers, police, prison warders, government officials, certain categories of management, and blue collar factory and office workers," he said.

It was also aimed specifically at reducing the risk to lenders - thus stimulating market confidence and demand in the affordable housing finance market.

These two measures - HLAMDA and the Gap Fund - would be used increasingly, Sexwale said, to change the profile of new developments and suburbs.
  
A key new area of work, he said, was the department of human settlements' initiatives to upscale affordable rental housing delivery through major investments in inner city renewal projects - which in itself contributes to building new non-racial communities.
 
"We are financially supporting the renovation and refurbishment of a number of buildings in the Johannesburg inner city, through our National Housing Finance Corporation, and have partnered with the private sector in other centres including Durban, Pretoria and East London."
 
These projects provided suitable accommodation to people who needed somewhere to live and who qualified for a government subsidy, but did not necessarily want to own a home at this stage.
 
Sexwale said the projects also ensured the availability of accommodation close to where people worked.