Title Deed:  It is a document registered in a deeds registry by virtue whereof the mortgaged property is registered in the name of the mortgagor and includes a sectional title deed.

Deed of Grant: It is the form of tenure that is issued in undeveloped piece of land. It contains full ownership right and is registered in the Register of Deeds.

The government is aiming at ensuring that every South African has access to adequate and decent housing. Allowing beneficiaries to sell before 5 year period has elapsed defeats the purpose.

Yes, he will qualify on grounds that he provides sufficient evidence which is normally a letter from the previous employer and also proof of unemployment from the Department of Labour.

Yes, there are contributions, it may be financial or sweat equity but this does not apply to the indigents. Beneficiaries have to pay rates once they have taken occupation of their houses.

In the event of sale being successfully concluded, and registration of transfer has taken place, then the developer or the department has no further role to play. The matter has to be dealt with privately by the family of the deceased in terms of the law of succession.

In terms of the Procedure on Deceased Beneficiaries, if there is no Will in place, the procedure will be to look for the deceased beneficiary's spouse or one of the dependents that is over 21 years of age. If there is no dependent who is over 21 years of age, the developer should arrange for an executor to be appointed through the Master of Supreme Court. The documents required to facilitate the transfer will normally be the deceased beneficiary's death certificate, his I.D book and the I.D book of the person to whom the property is being transferred. The developer is responsible to effect the transfer.

A policy on the TRANSFER OF PROPERTY BY A MUNICIPALITY WHERE A BENEFICIARY CANNOT BE FOUND is there to address such cases. The developer must make effort to trace the beneficiary and if the beneficiary cannot be traced, developer must provide proof thereof to the Department of Housing. The municipality takes charge of the property and rents it out at a reasonable rental. If the owner does not claim the house within a 8 year period, the municipality may expropriate the house and sell it to the next deserving and qualifying beneficiary.

DIVORCING & FORCED TO SELL PROPERTY
Normally when a marriage is terminated the assets of the marriage arrangements are divided by mutual agreement or by order of the court. This implies that if you had a house you would have received a benefit from the property when marriage terminated. If for some reasons this is not the case and lost everything, the MEC may after investigation decide to give you a new subsidy should you qualify in all other respects.

UNABLE TO PAY THE BOND
Assisted through rightsizing to a more affordable housing. Applicants qualify for relocation assistance under the Housing Subsidy Scheme. Assistance is through Servcon Housing Solutions. The cut-off date for non-performing loans is 31 August 1997. All defaulters that fall after this date cannot be assisted.

No. Foreigners are not catered for in terms of the qualification criteria.

Beneficiaries are generally advised to put their applications for housing within their municipal areas. There is no specific rule or policy that prohibits beneficiaries from applying outside their areas.

Yes, in-situ upgrade projects exist where beneficiaries' existing houses are demolished and new houses are built and infrastructure is installed.

The applicant may withdraw his/her application and request to have his/her name removed from the data base to allow his/her application to be approved in another area. This procedure can be followed provided that payment has not yet been made and transfer of the property to the beneficiary has not been effected.

No, in term of the policy, an applicant must not own a property.

The government does not approve funding for subsidised housing in a privately owned land, but will first negotiate with the owner to purchase land. A Land Availability Agreement will be signed between the land owner and the government before any housing development can commence.

Payment of services is seen as a vital component of an overall strategy to stabilize the housing environment. However the bigger municipalities do have Indigent Policies that caters for the indigents.