PRETORIA, Gauteng — On a national scale, South Africa is grappling with a severe infrastructural and social challenge: a massive housing backlog of more than 2.6 million homes affecting over 12 million citizens. As government housing delivery slows due to constrained financial resources, experts are urging the government to rethink affordable housing policies. With the private sector increasingly expected to fill the gap, specialists are pointing to successful international frameworks to provide affordable housing for lower-income households.
South Africa’s Housing Crisis and the Vienna Model
Professor Andreas Scheba from the University of the Free State points to Vienna, Austria, as a successful international model. Vienna is renowned for its extensive social housing program, which houses a quarter of the city’s population side by side across all income levels. Unlike many European cities that sold off municipal housing stock in the late 20th century, Vienna has never privatized its social housing, ensuring it never became a mere poverty safety net.
Redefining Affordable Housing in South Africa
Professor Scheba highlights a stark disparity in South Africa’s housing definitions. The banking sector defines affordable housing as accessible to households earning up to R34,000 per month, whereas the national median household income is just over R7,000. Consequently, current affordable housing projects often target the “gap market”—middle- and lower-middle-income earners with stable jobs who struggle to access housing—while leaving out low-income and poorer working-class individuals.
To address this, Scheba advocates for a broader mixture of income groups within housing projects and emphasizes the need to expand social housing programs. He notes that Vienna maximizes public value from private sector investments by actively shaping property and land markets. Instead of merely stepping back, the city collaborates with private and non-profit organizations to create low-cost social housing and integrated neighborhoods, viewing housing as essential social infrastructure rather than just shelter.
Overcoming Stigma and Driving Economic Growth
In South Africa, subsidized housing often carries a social stigma and is frequently isolated in poorer or peripheral neighborhoods. In contrast, Vienna deliberately implements social housing across the entire city, including the most affluent areas, to integrate low, middle, and high-income groups.
To replicate this success and eliminate local stigmas, Professor Scheba argues that South Africa requires both a shift in public attitudes and robust government legislation. He suggests implementing an inclusionary housing policy that mandates new private developments to include affordable and social housing units.
Furthermore, Scheba stresses that housing must be understood as a core urban and economic policy rather than a mere handout. The current approach results in massive economic losses due to high household spending on commuting, transport, rent, and mortgages. By shifting to a more integrated and economically efficient housing model, South Africa could provide better opportunities for its citizens, stimulate economic growth, and promote inclusive development across the country.
