A City’s Engagement with Backyard Housing: The Case of the City of Tshwane

Abstract

Backyard housing is a phenomenon occurring in municipalities across South Africa. Private developers create a housing supply for poor and low-income earning people within municipalities and generate income from rented units (Turok and Borel-Saladin, 2016). Municipalities coordinate the delivery of other housing provision programmes as mandated by law and directed by policy. However, there exists a vacuum in policy and legislation to manage and monitor backyard housing. This research investigates the engagement of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality with backyard housing. The research draws from the qualitative interviews with various stakeholders, the need for improved engagement with the phenomenon. The research reveals the attitude of City officials towards backyard housing and indicates governance and cultural traits that influence engagement with backyard housing within the City of Tshwane. The City’s involvement with the housing phenomenon presents opportunities for improved intergovernmental collaboration towards policy formulation, density development, compliance and enforcement, and funding tailored solutions for small-scale and micro developers. There is a need for effective and purpose-driven stakeholder participation to improve backyard housing engagement.