ABSTRACT
The competing agendas and practices make regeneration and housing provision an overburdened process which is trying to fulfil dissonant needs. Housing policy in the post-apartheid period has been formulated in response to three critical concerns: the need to provide adequate housing for millions of people who lack decent shelter, the urgent need to address racial and spatial segregation and transform South African cities, and the desire to compensate for historic injustices and provide homeownership opportunities to people who were discriminated against during apartheid. The National Housing Subsidy Scheme forms the foundation of the African National Congress government’s housing policy. There are other significant obstacles which make it difficult to provide the variety of housing typologies and solutions which are required. One of the biggest factors which constrains low-income households’ opportunities to access decent housing is the shortage of loan and mortgage finance available to them.
