IEASA National - News

Real change coming to SA's Inner Cities   Article Date :27 Oct 2005 News on leading Inner City Report The inner city revival is becoming tenant-driven as demand grows for urban accommodation Tenants are more savvy about their rights and obligations, rising rents, clearer city housing policies, more eager investors. All these are indications that real change is coming to South Africa's inner cities, says the fourth Trafalgar inner city report. But "freeloading owners who want to reap the benefit of urban revival without sharing the risk" remain a risk. Perhaps most significant is that tenants are beginning to drive that revival. They are "becoming more performance aware" and demanding better service levels from the property, building management and the municipality. Tenant defaults are also dwindling in the face of growing demand for inner city accommodation. The report states that the same problems regarding by-law enforcement, urban management, and council efficacy continue to constrain the marketplace and it is difficult to understand which these housekeeping basics are not yet being implemented effectively. "A growing worry is the apparent inability of metropolitan government to manage the influx of urban poor looking for opportunities in urban areas. This is being red-flagged as a real and worsening threat to revival of the inner city." Poor sectional title management remains a problem but is beginning to receive more attention. Despite the problems, investor demand is growing. Trafalgar has opened the first dedicated estate agency in the inner city to meet that demand and predicts that within three years they will have the first bachelor flats selling for more than R100,000 on their books. The report says that "cities and city management are fleshing out a much clearer view of residential policy in their inner cities. Development directives, a mixture of residential accommodation for different income groups, and a need to create healthy communities are being cited as key directives. "This raises questions around social infrastructure provision, schools, medical facilities, and sports or recreational facilities." CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE MAIN NEWS PAGE