The National Department of Human Settlements estimates that the title deed backlog on subsidy properties is 1.1 million units. But is it really?

In this short paper we review publicly available data on subsidy housing delivery and registrations. It highlights that key data points are either missing or inaccurate. In light of this, estimates of the title deed backlog published by the National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) are likely to be wrong.

This paper uses other publicly available data to derive a plausible alternative estimate of the size of the backlog. In addition, the paper highlights additional data sources that should be used to quantify the backlog and identify the barriers to transfer. These data sources will enable officials at municipal, provincial and national level to better target their efforts in addressing this critical gap in the National Housing Programme.