Exploring post-implementation administrative challenges, which are experienced in social housing developments in South Africa: cases of Valley View and Port-View housing projects, Durban.

Abstract

The study had a primary goal of establishing the reasons behind the continued post implementation administrative challenges facing Social Housing developments in South Africa. The study used the eThekwini Municipality as the study area, specifically focusing on the Port-View and Valley-View social housing developments, which are managed by SOHCO. The problems to be identified in this dissertation are the various administrative challenges faced by Social Housing Institutions, which include the lack of affordability, financial and operational management. Therefore, the administrative challenges which arise, tend to complicate matters further and prevent SHIs from fulfilling their role in providing adequate maintenance and management of Social Housing Developments. This results in the loss of income for the Social Housing Company and a sense of non-governability with regard to these projects. From a conceptual and theoretical point of view, the study had a specific focus on the administrative challenges of Social Housing. Therefore, the Privatization Theory assumed the role of providing principles, which informed the study. Furthermore, the Administrative Management Theory gave the study a perception of how institutions (SHIs’) should and can be structured, in order to make provision for adequate management of resources, tenants and the social housing developments at large. The theory strives to develop a balance between the structure of the administration and the mission of a particular organization, in this case, SOHCO. The study adopted a qualitative method of data collection; this enabled the researcher to gather information through face-to-face interviews and the use of the questionnaire surveys from the purposive sampling method, using primary data collection. Upon collecting data, the study uncovered that the social housing sector stands riddled with administrative faults. Such are the challenges that result from financial constraints. From an institutional point of view, the financial struggles faced by SHIs’, lead to the compromising of housing standards, maintenance and renewal of social housing developments. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that both the tenants and the SHIs’ saw the management of social housing schemes from different perspectives. From a tenant’sperspective, there are many challenges that they face, due to the management of the SHI. These include the level of safety within, as well as outside of the developments, and the lack of accessibility for young tenants. The maintenance of social housing developments and units is a vital element for the satisfaction of tenants. However, regardless of ‘proper’ or ‘poor’ maintenance, the defaulting and boycotting of payments continued. From the findings, the study recognised the issues of social housing: on how tenants understood social housing and what was required from them in order to ensure satisfactory living in Social Housing complexes. Furthermore, it saw that the administrative challenges were a consequence of poor administrative approaches. The study concluded that administrative challenges, in the post-implementation stages, have dire and disastrous impacts on the social housing sector and recommended that suitable approaches be established and potentially considered for implementation, as ways of changing and improving the Social Housing environment. Amendments to the Social Housing Policy, institutional amendments to rental collection and enhancing maintenance options, were amongst a few recommendations listed by the researcher.