Eastern Cape MEC for Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August announces R42 million help for struggling home loan defaulters in Nelson Mandela Metro
Eastern Cape MEC for Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August has announced that R42 million rand has been set aside to help home loan defaulters in the Motherwell, Uitenhage in the Nelson Mandela Metro.
The money will go into buying properties from Hlano financial services for the 379 houses categorized as the (PIP’s) Property in Possession from Hlano financial services who are title holders of the properties. The properties will then be transferred into the names of the beneficiaries who have been occupants for over twenty years without owning the houses.
Today the first batch of beneficiaries, 97 beneficiaries received their title deeds as confirmation of homeownership and security of tenure. The remaining number of title deeds will be processed during the course of the year. “These owners will not be removed or be threatened with eviction again. This is their houses and can now relax knowing that none can take their houses away,” MEC Helen Saul-August said at the handover of title deeds in Motherwell today.
In 2014, the Department was inundated with complaints from Hlano Financial Services Pty Ltd (Hlano) home loan defaulters and occupants of PIPs (Properties in Possession) residing in the Motherwell and Kwanobuhle areas. At this stage Hlano was aggressively pursuing the collection of outstanding bond repayments and the sale of PIPs which would have resulted in the displacement of many families. Some of the beneficiaries include the elderly and the disabled.
“The department settled the debt with Hlano Financial Services in order to prevent eviction of beneficiaries from their homes,” MEC Helen Sauls-August said. She acknowledged the critical role played by the municipality by writing off the municipal rates debt amounting to millions of rands so that properties can be transferred to the owners.
Enquiries:
Lwandile Sicwetsha
Director: Corporate Communications
Tel:+27 (0) 43 711 9679
Email: lwandiles@ecdhs.gov.za
