SASIHC has developed board approved tenant management policy and procedures which were submitted to the SHRA for approval during the company’s accreditation application process.

The first point of the company’s marketing strategy is to conduct market research for social housing in the Sol Plaatje Municipal area. The results of the market research has been used to inform the target market for social housing, in as much as the income groups are defined in the social housing market, it is necessary to understand the composition of that defined market in order to deliver the specification and quantum of the product and service offerings, this is the segmentation of the market.

The rental product or services offered by SASIHC involves all the value adding items that satisfy the needs of the selected target market. It embraces more than just the units for rent, but also the accompanied services (e.g. water and electricity and clean and safe units).

The product offer includes:

• Bachelor units
• One-bedroom units with one bathroom.
• Two-bedroom units with one bathroom.

The social housing  estates will provide as a minimum facilities consisting of balconies (if the cost is viable), gardens and grassed areas, refuse areas, playground area, washing lines, security patrols (if the area requires it and the fencing and entrance gates are not sufficient to provide safety), parking bays, and where possible community facilities, crèches, shops and offices.

The Social Housing Programme prescribes rentals of between R1,500 and R15,000. Where SASIHC is in a position to create more upmarket or commercial spaces within the estates, then it will use the surpluses to cross subsidies the rentals to achieve a deeper down reach. SASIHC has planned to provide 30% of its units to the deep-down market starting at R1500 to R5500, which will cater for the primary target market and 70% to the secondary market starting with R5501 to R15,000.

The RCG and the Institutional Subsidy plays a critical role in the affordability of rentals and all SASIHC’s projects are dependent on these subsidies. The pricing of units would still be aligned with the market demand and also the number of people (market size) that will be able to afford the product.

SASIHC’s Tenant Management Policy and Procedure Manuals covers the following key areas of tenant management:

• Application and registration procedure
• Screening Procedure
• Letting and Allocation Procedure
• Communication and Liaison Procedure
• Tenant empowerment
• Complaints Management System
• Conflict and dispute resolution
• Tenant satisfaction surveys
• Tenant Exit Procedure