Does housing size matter? The politics and realities of housing size

Abstract

The article examines the emphasis on housing size in the application of housing policy in South Africa and, more specifically, in the Free State Province. This evaluation of housing size in the Free State is conducted against the background of the ideological debate on housing in South Africa. It is argued that, despite pressure on an increase in the housing size in the Free State, the approach has also had negative implications which need to be assessed in more detail. The specific impact of this emphasis on larger housing units has been the fact that the level of services has been neglected, upgrading of informal settlements did not take place, and housing-subsidy allocations followed the availability of stands. In the process, it neglected growing urban areas, increased the pressure on larger municipalities to spend resources on housing, contributed to the problem of horizontal equity, and emphasised the pre-selection of beneficiaries which excluded private-sector finance and ultimately resulted in a slowing down of delivery. The article concludes by arguing that the essential problem relates to the fact that communities cannot make decisions in respect of their housing size and the variety of settlement-related funds which exist.