Rental housing policy and the role of the household rental sector: Evidence from South Africa

A growing body of research on rental housing in developing countries has pointed to the fact that while government and commercial investor provision of low income rentals is at an all time low, the numbers of people in rental accommodation has increased steadily. In some cities this is now the dominant form of tenure. The bulk of this rental accommodation is in fact provided by the “household sector” which tends to be unrecognized in policy terms. This paper examines attempts by both the past and current South African government to address housing problems and indicates how authorities have followed international trends in terms of attitudes to the provision of rental housing. The paper draws on a small-scale survey of households in South Africa to highlight the crucial role being played by the household rental sector, and argues for its incorporation into current housing policy.