Housing Subsidies for the Disabled and Health Stricken

DESCRIPTION:

People who are disabled or health-stricken are entitled to a full housing subsidy (Individual, Project-Linked or Relocation Assistance) without having to pay a contribution, even if their household budget is more than R1 500 but less than R3 500. In other words, they get a dispensation to not have to pay a contribution.The disabled and health-stricken are also entitled to a variance amount over and above the subsidy amount to cover the cost of special structures, for example, a wheelchair ramp for the walking disabled.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Who can apply for a subsidy dispensation for the disabled or health-stricken?
How much is the subsidy dispensation worth?
How much is my contribution?
How do I apply for a subsidy dispensation?
What documentation must I supply when applying for a subsidy dispensation?
Will I have to pay anything back?
Where can I find out more information?

WHO CAN APPLY FOR A SUBSIDY DISPENSATION FOR THE DISABLED OR HEALTH-STRICKEN?

You will only get a subsidy dispensation exempting you from paying a contribution if you are disabled or health-stricken, as described below.

Disabled People who are not able to build their own homes due to their disabilities are excluded from making a contribution. You will need to produce a medical certificate from a registered medical doctor to prove that you are permanently disabled.

Health-stricken This refers to people who an prove that they are unable to build their own houses either permanently or for the duration of the building project. You will need to produce a medical certificate from a registered medical doctor to prove that you are health-stricken.

You also have to be able to prove that ALL of the following statements are true:

I am married or cohabiting with a long-term partner. (If you are married or cohabiting, it does not matter whether you have financial dependents or not.)
OR
I am single or divorced with financial dependents.

I am a South African citizen
OR
I have a South African Permanent Resident's Permit.

I am over 21 years of age
OR
I am under 21 years of age and married or divorced with financial dependents.

I am of sound mind.

My gross monthly household income is less than R3 500.

I have never received a subsidy from the government, and neither has my partner.

I have never owned property, and neither has my partner.

My family and I will live on the property bought with the subsidy.

HOW MUCH IS THE SUBSIDY DISPENSATION WORTH?

If your household income is more than R1 500 and less than R3 500, you would ordinarily be entitled to a housing subsidy of R34 049 and would have to pay in R2 479 in order to afford a standard 30-square-metre unit, which costs R36 528.

As a disabled or health-stricken person, you get the full R36 528 subsidy and do not have to pay anything in.

On top of this subsidy, you are entitled to an extra variance amount for the building of special structures for the disabled, depending on your disability, as defined by the table below.

DISABLED CATEGORY	NATURE OF DISABILITY	DEGREE OF DISABILITY
A	Walking	Walking aids
B	Walking	Wheelchair - partial usage
C	Walking	Wheelchair - full-time usage
D	Hearing	Partially/Profound deaf
E	Vision Loss	Partially/Totally Blind
F	Limited or no use of upper body limbs	Partial/Total movement loss/paralysis in the upper limbs

The following additional variance amounts are available for the building of special structures:

DISABLED CATEGORY	PURPOSE OF VARIANCE	VALUE OF VARIANCE
A, B, C, E and F	Access to house, 12m² of paving and ramp at doorway	R868
A, B, C, E and F	Kick plates to doors or a hand rail installation where necessary	R362
A, B, C, E and F	Grab rails and lever action taps in the bathroom/toilet/kitchen (the area can be enlarged by cutting expenses on the rest of the house)	R1 327
D	Visual door bell indicators	R844
E and F	Slip-resistant flooring and/or colour contrast on doorways, stairs, corners of buildings and skirting on walls	R844
A, B, C and F	Vinyl folding door (bathroom/toilet area), width 1 metre	R1 900 (excluding labour costs)

HOW MUCH IS MY CONTRIBUTION?

The housing subsidy should be able to buy you a house of 30m², plus extra features as defined above. If you want any extra features over and above this, or if you have to pay for labour (for example, if you are installing a vinyl folding door), you will have to pay for it out of your own pocket.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR A SUBSIDY DISPENSATION?

For information on other kinds of subsidies, go to our Subsidies & Assistance page.

WHAT DOCUMENTATION MUST I SUPPLY WHEN APPLYING FOR A SUBSIDY DISPENSATION?

You will need to supply:

A copy of your bar-coded South African ID, that of your partner or spouse, and the birth certificates of your financial dependents. (See Applying for a Birth Certificate if you have lost your dependents' birth certificates.) Please note that you will be asked to provide the ID numbers of your financial dependents.
OR
A copy of your Permanent Residency Permit if you are not South African, plus those of your partner or spouse and dependents.

Your marriage certificate, if you are married
OR
Your divorce decree, if you are divorced with financial dependents.

A recent payslip (less than six months old) as proof of income

A medical certificate as proof of your disability or health problems.

WILL I HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING BACK?

The housing subsidy is not a loan and you do not need to pay it back.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION?

Department of Local Government & Housing
27 Wale Street
Cape Town

Housing Subsidies Helpdesk
Call 021 483 2342 between 8am and 4.15pm, Mondays to Fridays.

Housing Code
Refer to Part 3, Chapter 7 for information on dispensations for the disabled or health-stricken.

PROVIDED BY:

GOVERNMENT BODY:	Housing Project Administration (Department of Local Government and Housing, Provincial Government of the Western Cape)

GOVERNMENT BODY:

Housing Project Administration (Department of Local Government and Housing, Provincial Government of the Western Cape)

The content on this page was last updated on 16 October 2006

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