Durban - The parliamentary portfolio committee on human settlements has been urged by the residents of the eThekwini Municipality to extend the warranty fund contained in the Housing Consumer Protection Bill beyond the five years proposed.
The committee had completed the third public hearing in KwaZulu-Natal.
The committee in a statement said there was overwhelming support for the bill during the public hearings.
“Most residents believed that extending the warranty fund is a reasonable demand that will protect consumers against defective houses and benefit RDP house beneficiaries, who are largely poor,” committee chairperson Machwene Semenya said.
She said participants also welcomed the requirement to register home builders. This measure would improve housing construction quality, they said, as home builders would be trained and obliged to meet building standards. Nonetheless, they were concerned that it would be difficult for consumers in rural areas to verify such registrations.
Semenya said that in supporting the bill, public hearing participants said that transforming the construction industry was a key consideration. Many of them highlighted that small businesses would benefit from training and registration, as it would allow them to access bigger contracts.
“eThekwini residents also called for improvements in the accessibility of the National Home Builders Registration Council, especially in rural areas,” Semenya said.
She added that they said the capacity and housing inspectors should also improve at all levels of government. They emphasised the critical role that inspectors play in ensuring adherence to building standards and said that this was a gap the bill must close. The bill must also include punitive measures against negligent inspectors.
“As with the residents of uMgungundlovu, eThekwini participants in the public hearings were concerned that the bill will not be implemented retrospectively. This essentially excludes recipients of RDP houses already staying in defective houses, they pointed out,” Semenya said.
She said that contractors also called for the bill to protect them, especially against home builders from foreign countries, who charge low prices because they do not have to comply with the same statutory requirements as their South African counterparts. Some of these statutory requirements have a financial obligation.
“The committee welcomed participants’ inputs and said their insightful views will meaningfully strengthen the bill.”
Daily News