4th Community of Practice for Human Settlements Finance: Focus on FLISP

The Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) subsidy provides support to households in the ‘gap’ market, who earn too much to qualify for a fully-subsidised house from government, but too little to be able to afford to purchase a house without some financial support to reduce the down payment or monthly payments on a mortgage. In 2018, the National Department of Human Settlements introduced some key changes to the FLISP policy which include an extension of the subsidy to apply to purchases financed through non-mortgage products, such as unsecured loans or employer-based housing schemes.

The National Department is currently undergoing a process to consult with stakeholders on the draft revised FLISP policy. The Community of Practice provided a platform for consultation with metros on the draft policy, in the context of a larger discussion about challenges with FLISP. In addition to a presentation by the NDHS at the 11 June 2021 4th COP session, the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements also presented the findings of their research on the FLISP and the Transaction Support Centre also presented some of the experiences of their clients in accessing the FLISP.

The COP is a joint initiative of CAHF, the Cities Support Programme of National Treasury, and SALGA and was established in 2019 as a regular platform intended to address issues of housing finance, spatial planning and housing development in cities. The purpose of the Community of Practice on Human Settlements Finance is to provide a knowledge-sharing platform for research on residential property markets and the built environment finance framework.

The presentations from the 4th COP session can be downloaded below.