National Home Builders Registration Council.

The NHBRC was established through the Housing Consumer Protection Measures Act, 95 of 1998, to protect the buyer of newly built or still to be built residential properties, in the event that defective materials and/or construction methods are/have been used in the building process. It was also established to maintain construction quality standards in the home building industry.

The council consists of between 7 and 15 members, appointed by the Minister of Housing. It is not a government department or organisation, although it reports to the Minister of Housing, providing quarterly and annual reports to be tabled in Parliament.

It is an independent, non-government,

non-profit organisation, which will protect you irrespective of the contract value, purchase price or way in which your new home is funded (cash/loan).

What does the NHBRC actually offer the homebuyer?

Irrespective of the amount of times the home has been resold since it was built, the NHBRC will cover:

Defects related to plans, specifications, workmanship and materials occurring within 90 days of occupation;

Roof leaks occurring within 12 months of occupation;

 Any structural defects occurring within 5 years of occupation. Alterations and additions to existing homes are not covered by the warranty provided by the NHBRC.

Only new homes, including houses, cluster homes, sectional title units, builder & developer housing projects and employee & company housing schemes are covered.

Who has to register with the NHBRC?

The "Home Builder", as contractual link to the consumer, has to register with the NHBRC.

This is anyone who is in the business of building residential properties for sale (or other means of disposal), who sign the offer to purchase and/or building contract with the buyer.

 Those who need NOT register are owner-builders (who genuinely build homes for their own occupation), owners of land in a 'plot & plan' building contract (i.e. new sectional title units), or sub-contractors (who have not entered directly into any contracts with the buyer).

 NHBRC Registration Fees.

The home builder is responsible for the fee to register the new home, and either carries the cost himself or includes it in the contract price, in which case the fee is included in the bond the buyer takes out with the bank. All new homes must be enrolled at least three weeks before building starts! The enrolment fee is calculated as 1.3% of the total selling price of the new home. The selling price consists of the contract value and the deed of sale (land value) added together.