Developing a Response to Backyarding for SALGA Final Report 14 May, 2013 Prepared for: The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) Prepared by Margot Rubin and David Gardner SALGA: Development of a Response to Backyarding M Rubin & D Gardner CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. i 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Terms of Reference ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Report Structure ................................................................................................................................... 2 2. Key Concepts and Debates ................................................................................................ 1 2.1 Definition of Backyarding ..................................................................................................................... 1 2.2 Typology of Backyard Accommodation ................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Backyarding: a South African Phenomenon? ....................................................................................... 5 2.4 Factors of Supply and Demand ............................................................................................................. 5 2.5 Densification, infill and over-crowding: How Much is Too Much? ....................................................... 8 2.6 Inclusionary Housing Policy and Backyarding ....................................................................................... 9 2.7 Infrastructure Capacity: Service Provision and Expansion/Overload ................................................. 10 2.8 Accommodation Standards: Does Size Matter? ................................................................................. 12 3. Statistics: Patterns and Trends .......................................................................................... 1 3.1 Accommodation Types ......................................................................................................................... 1 3.2 Growth of Backyarding Sub-Sector ....................................................................................................... 3 3.3 Household Absorption .......................................................................................................................... 4 3.4 Backyarding across Income Sub-Markets ............................................................................................. 4 3.5 Backyard Household Profiles ................................................................................................................ 5 4. Local and International Precedents and Case Studies ........................................................ 1 4.1 Existing Situations of Backyarding in Informal Contexts: No Intervention........................................... 3 4.1.1 Case Study 1: Kennedy Road, Ethekwini - Backyarding in an Informal Settlement ...................... 3 4.1.2 Case Study 2: Diepsloot, Johannesburg - From Formal Stock to Slums ........................................ 5 4.1.3 Case Study 3: Du Noon, Cape Town - The Rise of the Tenements ................................................ 7 4.2 Existing Situations of Backyarding in Formal Contexts – No Intervention ........................................... 9 4.2.1 Case Study 4: Grassy Park, Cape Town - Organic Densification in a Middle Income Suburb ....... 9 4.2.2 Case Study 5: Yeoville / Berea - Change of Urban Form in a Near-City Neighbourhood ............ 11 4.2.2 Summary of Issues associated with a lack of key interventions ................................................. 12 4.3 State Intervention Into Backyarding: National Response ................................................................... 13 4.3.1 Case Study 6: Alexandra Renewal Project - A Combined Response of National, Provincial and Local Government ................................................................................................................................ 14 4.4 State Interventions: Gauteng and City of Johannesburg .................................................................... 17 4.4.1 Case Study 7: Orlando East, Gauteng Province: Low-Income Township Urban Improvement .. 18 4.4.2 Case Study 8: Orlando and Zola, Gauteng Province - Gauteng Backyard Pilot Project’s Gentrification of Backyard Accommodation ........................................................................................ 20 4.4.3 Case Study 9: Cosmo City, City of Johannesburg: Controlled Backyarding Growth in a New, Mixed Income Settlement .................................................................................................................... 22 4.4.4 Case Study 10: City of Johannesburg – Additional Subsidised Room Rental in the K206 RDP Settlement ............................................................................................................................................ 24 4.5 Western Cape: Knysna and the City of Cape Town ............................................................................ 26 4.5.1 Case Study 11: Factreton, Cape Town - Services Intervention in a Municipal Housing Area ..... 26 Page i SALGA: Development of a Response to Backyarding M Rubin & D Gardner 4.6 Other Municipal Responses ................................................................................................................ 28 4.6.1 Case Study 12: Ekurhuleni - EMM U4G Proactive Frameworks for Small-Scale Landlord Development ........................................................................................................................................ 29 4.6.2 Case Study 13: Kokstad - From Zero Tolerance to Integrated Sustainable Planning .................. 30 4.6.3 Case Study 14: Northern Cape - Doubling Household Density in a New Formal Housing Development ........................................................................................................................................ 32 4.7 International Experience .................................................................................................................... 33 4.7.1 International Case Study 1: Social Landlords London (UK) ......................................................... 33 4.7.2 International Case Study 2: Massachusetts (USA) - Land Use Regulation .................................. 33 4.7.3 International Case Study 3: Backyard cottage initiative: Seattle ................................................ 34 4.7.4 International Case Study 4: Chile ................................................................................................ 34 4.8 Summary of South African Municipal Responses ............................................................................... 35 5. Key Backyarding Challenges Facing Municipalities ............................................................. 1 5.1 Policy and Legislative Concerns ............................................................................................................ 1 5.1.1 Operating in a Policy Vacuum ....................................................................................................... 1 5.1.2 Confusion of the Policy-Response ................................................................................................. 1 5.1.3 Policy, Legislative and By-Law Relevance ...................................................................................... 1 5.2 Identifying the nature of the intervention ........................................................................................... 2 5.2.1 Addressing Different Needs, Markets and Outcomes ................................................................... 2 5.2.2 Role of the State: Invest, Facilitate or Retreat? ............................................................................ 2 5.2.3 Equity considerations: Subsidy ‘Double-Dipping’ ......................................................................... 2 5.2.4 Controlling Norms and Standards ................................................................................................. 2 5.3 Municipal concerns ............................................................................................................................... 3 5.3.1 Municipal capacity: The Burden of Urban Management .............................................................. 3 5.3.2 Assessing Municipal Infrastructure Capacity ................................................................................ 3 5.3.3 Difficulties in Applying Official Planning & Building Controls ....................................................... 3 5.4 Finance and Support ............................................................................................................................. 4 5.4.1 Accessing Development Finance and Private Sector Financing for Improvements ...................... 4 5.5 Summarising the Backyarding Challenge: What are the Key Problems? ............................................. 4 6. Potential SALGA Policy Response Framework .................................................................... 1 6.1