Supply And Demand of Rental Accommodation in South Africa

This study was undertaken by Eighty20 Consulting and was commissioned by the Social Housing Foundation (“SHF”).  It sought to begin the process of collecting, consolidating and summarising data relating to the status of rental housing in South Africa in a systematic way. The objectives of this study were to:

• Present an overview of the rental market in South Africa including an analysis of available demand and supply side data  

• Assess available data and provide recommendations in that regard
• Assess existing rental and other housing policy in light of newly analysed data
• Identify key factors that inhibit or encourage the development of rental stock

In order to meet the first objective a comprehensive analysis was undertaken of recent, nationally representative household and individual surveys. These include the 2005/6 Income and Expenditure Survey4 (“IES”) and the General Household Survey5 (“GHS”) undertaken by Statistics South Africa (“StatsSA”) and the 2007 All Media and Product Survey (“AMPS”). Data from the 2007 Community Survey and 2001 Census has also been used to provide further reference points. As expected estimates generated by these data differ. The use of multiple data sources enables a triangulation of estimates, with various sources of data tested against each other to give credence to findings or to highlight areas of uncertainty where further research is required.

The report is structured into three key sections. An overview of demand, based on survey data is provided in Chapter 3. The chapter presents an analysis of available data, highlights limitations of available data and proposes some potential solutions to overcome these shortcomings. It is followed by an overview of the supply side data and recommendations regarding data gathering processes. Chapter 5 presents feedback from interviews with various market participants and commentators.