new report, launched by consulting company 71point4 and the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) issued a few weeks ago, is a result of a two year study in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. SA Affordable Housing looks at some of the recommendations made.

interventions to create a more accessible formal property transfer process must be prioritised. Image credit: GroundUp

interventions to create a more accessible formal property transfer process must be prioritised. Image credit: GroundUp

The report states: “At the risk of stating the glaringly obvious, the primary recommendation emanating from the TSC is that interventions to create a more accessible formal property transfer process must be prioritised.”

Simply put, the high end purchasers can afford the transfer process but at the low end, conveyancers, lawyers and others involved in the vetting process, are simply too expensive and consequently low end clients are held back in obtaining property.

The foundations to change this scenario exist. There are digital identity systems in place, linked to biometrics. All this would then need is a fingerprint scanner. Official documents can be requested digitally.

So, what’s the problem? As the report states: “While we might need to wait some years for legislation to allow property transfer documents to be signed digitally, the technology exists.”

SA Affordable Housing is asking government – so what is the delay?

The full report is available here.