Infrstructure

1. (i)(ii)(iii) While the Department does not implement programmes that are exclusively dedicated to backyard dwellers, housing challenges are addressed through a combination of integrated human settlement programmes. The Department’s targeted approach to Priority Development Areas ensures that projects are located in areas where backyard dwellers are prevalent.
2. The table below outlines in which municipalities formal housing opportunities were provided by the department to respond to housing needs, including the provision of housing opportunities to backyard dwellers.

3. Beneficiaries of human settlement developments are predominantly sourced from the Housing Demand Database, which represents households living in backyard structures, informal settlements and overcrowded formal housing conditions. Through this approach, backyard dwellers are systematically included as beneficiaries within broader human settlement delivery programmes. Additionally, the Department’s approach is premised on the principle of balanced targeting, i.e. finding a balance between households living in informal settlements and households living in overcrowded formal conditions in line with the Amended Beneficiary Selection Framework Policy (2022). Municipalities follow these guidelines in their selection criteria for beneficiaries in projects.

Although individuals registering on the Housing Demand Database are required to indicate their current housing circumstances i.e., whether living in an informal settlement, an overcrowded dwelling, or as a backyarder, this information is collected solely for planning purposes. The primary basis for selection to participate in a housing project remains the date of registration, supplemented by the identification of priority groups such as the aged, persons with disabilities, and military veterans. Once selected, beneficiaries must complete a housing subsidy application, which does not record whether the applicant is a backyarder, from an informal settlement, or residing in an overcrowded house. As a result, it is not possible to immediately determine the proportion of the overall housing allocations to backyarders.