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Officials from the Department of Human Settlements are currently going across the country’s nine provinces to promote the Property Practitioners Bill and the Home Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Amendment Bill to afford communities a chance to make their input and comments on the proposed laws.

This past week the public participation sessions were held in Northern Cape and Free State and North West.

Communities in these provinces took the opportunity provided by the public hearings to robustly engage and comment to ensure an inclusive outcome that will give the country   better laws. The two Bills are aimed at transforming the property and real estate sector.

Among other issues raised and discussed during the engagements included the promotion of meaningful participation by small businesses, stringent penalties to ensure financial institutions compliance, unfair landing practises by institutions, to assistance given to mortgage defaulters. 

The published envisaged laws are public documents and they allow all South Africans and practitioners in the property sector to comment and give further inputs. The public comments are a necessary requisite to complete the work of the Department of Human Settlements that drafted the amendments following a review of the impact of current legislations and inputs from stakeholders on challenges related to fair lending practices and transformation in the property sector.

They will further broaden the sector’s operations and reach to historically black communities such as townships where the real estate sector and estate agents’ work has still not stretched to its maximum potential in terms of access, ownership and even the training of new real estate agents in poor communities.

The proposed laws encourage professionalisation, accountability and transformation of the sector. The sector is currently valued at about R7 trillion and its subsidised component is approximately R1.5 trillion. Historically disadvantaged people only account for less than five percent ownership and this new law will help ensure a more inclusive and representative sector and protect the consumer.

Next week the public participation sessions will take place in the following provinces:
1. Kwazulu- Natal,  ICC Durban,  27 June 2017  - 10:00
2. Western Cape, Cape Town,  Protea Hotel Stellenbosch, 28 June 2017 - 10:00
3. Eastern Cape,  East London, Premier Hotel Regent  29 June 2017 – 10:00

Issued by the Department of Human Settlements