Leseja Mokgata

Leseja Mokgata

The National Home Builders Registration Council urges potential owners of low-cost houses to be careful of sub-standard construction.

The council said yesterday: "We need to ensure that we strictly monitor the industry to ensure that we don't have any more poorly built homes, even if they are low cost."

The council sounded the warning yesterday when the National Housing Finance Corporation and Absa signed a memorandum of agreement designed to ease the backlog in the affordable housing market with a R2,6billion commitment to build 100000 houses before 2010.

The average low-cost house is between 40 and 60square metres, and according to Cash Build, a building supply wholesaler, a house that size could demand supplies costing up to R120000, excluding labour and land.

The houses that Absa plans to build will cost between R180000 and R300000 and are aimed at people earning less than R7 500 a month.

A representative at Absa Home Loans said a R180000 home would cost the buyer around R2260 a month for a 20-year bond, excluding insurance.

A R2260 monthly repayment seems steep for low-income earners, but council marketing executive Lawrence Lehabe said: "A household bringing in less than R7500 a month may be eligible for a credit-linked subsidy of up to R16000.

"The department of housing is in talks to increase the income level to R10000 due to ever-increasing property prices," Lehabe said.

"Housing is becoming increasingly expensive but people are still not making use of available government subsidies."

The first phase of homes is expected to be available early next year.