The council consists of between 7 and 15 members, appointed by the Minister of Housing. It is not a government department or organisation, although it reports to the Minister Parliament.

It is an independent, non-government, non-profit organisation, which will protect you irrespective of the contract value, purchase price or way in which your new home is funded.

NHBRC – Mission

• To protect housing consumers by monitoring quality standards in the home building industry.
• To provide assistance to housing consumers in circumstances where major structural defects occur and where home builders fail to meet their obligations in terms of the Act.
• To build the capacity of the home builders through a national trainning programme, with specific emphasis on the historically disadvantaged.
• To provide technical and management support to Provincial Housing Departments.
• To grow and sustain the warranty reserve.
• To educate the housing consumers and home builders about their rights and obligations.
• To provide excellent customer care service.

NHBRC – Statement of values

• Customer service excellence
• Accountability, responsibility and transparency
• Honesty, integrity, objectivity and mutual respect
• Learning and caring organisation

NHBRC – Valuable Final Products

A Valuable Final Product (VFP) is defined as a product or service that can be exchanged for the goods and services of the organisation. In the NHBRC’s case, the following will be applicable:

• Registration of home builders
  This is a process whereby a home builder is registered and is to meet the obligations of housing consumers in terms of the NHBRC’s requirements.
• Enrolment of new homes
  At least 3 weeks before building starts, the builder should enrol the new home with the NHBRC, and obtain a Residential Unit Enrolment Certificate. Insist on seeing this certificate.This is a process whereby homes are enrolled with the necessary engineering input from competent persons to assist the home builders in taking the necessary precautions in foundation design.
• De-registration of defaulting home builders
  This process is the removal from the NHBRC register of home builders who have failed to meet the obligations in terms of the Act.
• Inspection of homes
  This is a service to the home builders to assist them to build homes with structural integrity, resulting in minimising complaints from housing consumers.
• Handling of housing consumers’ complaints
  This is a service whereby a complaint is professionally and speedily processed on behalf of the housing consumer with clarity on the home builder’s reasonable legal and ethical obligations in relation to specific complaints made by the housing consumer.
• Conciliation of disputes between housing consumers and home builders.
  This is professional service of conciliation, covering all relevant structural concerns of the housing consumer and clarifying the home builder’s responsibility and the housing consumer’s obligations.
• Undertaking remedial works
  This is the repair by the home builder of structural defects found in enrolled homes or repair by the NHBRC in instances where the home builder is unable to meet their obligation.
• Moving into your new home:
  Draw up a list of all the problems and defects, keep a copy, and hand it to the builder before you sign for the keys

Contact the NHBRC to make sure that the builder has not been deregistered.
You can contact them on:

Tel: 011 317-0000
Fax: 011 317-0105
Web: www.nhbrc.org.za
Post: PO Box 461, Randburg 2125
Address: Phase 4, Medscheme Building, 10 Muswell Road South, Bryanston.

1. Establish from various builders, what the average building rate is per m . This will depend on the finishes that you choose. A builder cannot give you an exact price per m without the plans, because a square structure will cost less per m , than a complex shape, but get an approximate figure per m . In doing so, you can decide how big the house can be for you to be able to afford it.
2. Measure your current home and establish exactly what your requirements are. Before you know it, you are going to be running around between architect and builder to come to terms with what exact size (m ) it is that you can afford to build. When measuring your home, take the length and width of a room, multiply these sizes by each other and that will give you the m of the room. Add all your rooms together and make your own calculations of more or less what sizes you are going to require for which rooms. Remember to make provision for the size of the walls, because square meter calculations are made from outside the exterior walls.
3. Read through the “Management Rules and Regulations” or ” Home Owners Association Building Guides” or whatever the estate or complex you are buying into calls it (if you are buying into such a complex). These regulations are enforceable because the offer to purchase that you signed was more than likely subject to the terms contained in such rules. The building guides are formulated to protect the owners of the estate or complex and regulate things like building entertainment areas only on the north-eastern side of the stand, or screening walls to screen washing lines or certain materials that may not be used, or regulations regarding the size of the building, and so on.
4. If you do not take the above 3 steps into consideration before you start your building “expedition”, you are going to waste money on plans from an architect, which you cannot use. The architect will design a beautiful home that blows you away and then when you get the quotation from the builder to build this home, you realise that you cannot afford it, because it is too big. Now you would have to pay the architect for these unusable drawings.
5. When selecting the architect, engineer, builder, plumber, electrician, and so on, ask for a list of their previous clients. Make sure that you check their workmanship and speak to their previous clients to find out whether they where happy with the work done.
6. Budgeting for building your home is very tricky. Make provision for at least 20% more than the estimated cost, for unforeseen costs. Also keep in mind the cost of your boundary walls, paving, landscaping, pool and any other costs not directly related to the building of the actual house.
7. Exercise caution before buying a stand in an area that still has to be proclaimed as this may never take place, or may take years. Check with your local municipality on the date. Transfer of your stand into your name will only take place on Proclamation of the land, after which you may be liable to pay double rates and taxes until you start building. This is to force owner to start building as soon as possible. Proclamation means that the local authority (municipality) formally confers suburb status on a new area (formally farms lands or the like). This means that the authority will provide water, electricity, sewerage, refuse collection and other essential services.

Some of the above points may be time consuming for you in the beginning, but it may save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

Buying

Advantages: Buying an Existing Home

• From a security point of view, (and also from an insurance premium point of view), it is less likely that there are vacant stands which surround the property.
• Established neighbourhoods generally have the necessary major arterial routes and amenities, including a central business district, public transport, schools, shopping centres, and so on.
• It may be easier to obtain objective opinions in terms of current and future property values in an established area.
• The average land area, total building area and the average size per room of older properties is generally larger than that of new residential stands available or newly built homes.
• One can obtain expert advice on existing structures if there is uncertainty about the structural aspects. Defects and poor workmanship can be inspected for quality.
• If the property is bought at a reasonable price, it could be cost effective to renovate giving it a fresh and modern feel.

Disadvantages: Buying an Existing Home

• Deteriorating properties in the vicinity may have a negative effect on the property value.
• Older properties are sold ‘voetstoets’ without a warranty.
• The design, layout and finishes may not be in line with your personal taste or the latest fashion trends, and renovating may be too costly.
• Defects may be invisible at the time of viewing, and could end up costing you a lot of time and money in repairs.

Building

Building a new home

Your choice of a vacant stand to build on will be a critical factor in the bank’s decision for finance. Be sure to have written in the Offer to Purchase the Seller’s responsibility for establishing access to the stand.

If you’re not buying your stand from a developer, the financial arrangements, legalities and procedures are basically the same as buying a house. Once your Home Loan has been approved, a letter of grant is issued informing you of the bank requirements and any conditions pertaining to the building loan.

In some cases, the conditions must be adhered to as a prerequisite to the home loan being registered.

There are some specific factors you need to take into account:

The stand must be within the proclaimed suburb, if not it can take years to be proclaimed, check with local authority. Proclamation means that the local authority confers suburb as suburb status and will provide water, electricity, and sewerage, refuse collection and other essential services. Check for restrictions at the local authority.

The local authority must approve plans before an assessor assesses the building progress, in order to release the first progress payment.

IMPORTANT: The bank requires a copy of the local authority, approved building plan, quotes from your builder and also proof that you have purchased the stand.
An assessor will assess the stand on which the building will be built to assess its stability, as security for the loan to be advanced.

The assessor will then estimate, on behalf of the bank, the cost to complete the house, which will determine the maximum home loan that will be granted. The assessor will also ensure that the builder is registered with the NHBRC.

Advantages: Building a New Home

• You do not have to put up with the previous owner’s taste and have the choice of deciding what finishes you desire and make your dream home a reality.
• When buying from a developer, VAT is normally included in the price.
• You have a 5-year major structural defect warranty as well as a 1-year roof leak warranty from a building contractor registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC).
• Properties in your immediate area are usually also new and still well maintained, modern, and so on, and this will have a positive effect on the increasing value of your new home.
• You are generally able to choose the design, layout, finishes and everything else to your needs and preference and in line with the current fashion trends.
• The initial maintenance cost is low.

Disadvantages: Building a New Home

• Settling cost is high such as to establishing a new garden, paving, and security. The new home with the smart kitchen is more expensive than a less expensive home with the not so smart kitchen.
• Most newly built houses are on the outskirts of the city far from work and shops.
• New developments and vacant stands are mainly on the outskirts of major urban areas, which may be a disadvantage in terms of security and accessibility to necessary major arterial routes and amenities.
• The future development of major arterial routes may add to noise and other pollution and the development of low-cost housing or the formation of informal settlements on vacant land in the near vicinity may cause property values to stagnate or even decline.
• You cannot be sure about your privacy if your neigbours have not yet build their homes around you.
• Major additional expenses for an architect or engineer, land preparation or excavation with unforeseen ground formations, and so on, may need to be taken into account.
• There is usually uncertainty about the quality of workmanship and material to be used.
• The building project may take longer to complete than anticipated, which will create problems for you in terms of an occupation date.
• Stand sizes are generally smaller than those in established older areas.
• Relatively small stand sizes.
• You need to keep your eyes on the project to ensure that what you had in mind from the start, is what the project turns out to be – this can become time consuming and put pressure on other daily responsibilities you may have.