Qualifing Criteria for Renting
All units are rental only
Sohco has a range of criteria that must be complied with in order to further progress an application. These are listed below and are an important part of the initial phase to determine which potential tenants match the requirements for Social Housing.
Social Housing Applications Criteria
Qualification for Renting an apartment
In order to qualify for social housing, an applicant must meet the following criteria and pass the required assessments:
Living with financial dependents:
- An applicant must be a citizen of the Republic of South Africa, or be in the possession of a permanent resident permit.
- Constantly living together with a partner where both partners are working or where the partner is financially dependent on the applicant or;
- Married where both partners are working or married with one spouse financially dependent on the other or;
- Married where both partners are working and have financial dependents living with them or;
- Single with financial dependents (financially taking care of child / sibling or relative other person).
– Affidavits are required by applicants to prove financial dependency in cases where the dependent is other than the biological child or husband / wife. - Single with no dependents: We do not accept single applicants without financial dependents living with them.
SA Residents:
An applicant must be a citizen of the Republic of South Africa, or be in the possession of a permanent resident permit.
Competent to Contract:
An applicant must be legally competent to contract (i.e. over 21 years of age, or married or divorced) and of sound mind. Applicants who are between 18 years and 21 years, who are in full time employment and have financial dependents, with proven affordability may be considered.
Monthly Household Income:
Gross monthly household income should be below R22 000, with minimum incomes development dependent. This includes full time employment and any other additional income including private business. Proof of income must be submitted.
Not yet benefited from Government Housing Funding:
An applicant or anyone else in the household must not have received previous housing benefits from the Government (Housing Subsidy, RDP Housing, or any government assisted funding towards housing).
First time property owner:
An applicant must not currently own property or previously have owned property (this includes vacant land). This applies to applicants who owned property before a divorce even if they have relinquished all benefits associated to the estate. Applicant’s financial dependents must not have owned property before.
Affordability:
An assessment is required to determine affordability status for the applicant i.e. income vs expenditure. Applicants must have a stable cash flow surplus at the end of every month.
Credit rating:
Necessary credit checks are performed on applicants and partners to determine credit rating. If a credit rating is below the acceptable score then an application can be declined. Due consideration is given to applicants who have proven good payment profile since the default indicated on their credit ratings.