Edition December 2025 / January 2026

The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) is entering a new era of regulation and transformation, following the signing of the Housing Consumer Protection Act of 2024 by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January this year. 

The new legislation significantly expands the NHBRC’s mandate, strengthening oversight, consumer protection, and transformation within South Africa's home-building industry.

"This new legislative framework will contribute towards the transformation of the industry by ensuring comprehensive regulation of the home building industry, improved building standards and wider protection of housing consumers," says acting Chief Executive Officer Tamlyn Bouwer.

Expanded regulatory powers

Among the most notable provisions, the new Act grants the NHBRC authority to regulate all home builders, regardless of registration status. “Registration is no longer a prerequisite for NHBRC jurisdiction. The NHBRC may impose administrative penalties and refer non-compliant individuals or entities to the Compliance and Enforcement Committee (CEC) if they fail to comply with an administrative penalty notice.”

Critically, the definition of a home builder now includes owner-builders. “Owner-builders are no longer exempt and are required to register and enrol their homes in accordance with the Act.”

Comprehensive protection

The Act also provides comprehensive protection to housing consumers. “The Act applies to a permanent residential structure which is suitable to be occupied fully or partially for residential purposes by a housing consumer or leased out by any person,” explains Bouwer in an interview with Public Sector Manager magazine. 

The new regulatory framework no longer provides exclusions for certain mixed-use buildings and now includes boarding houses and hostels to ensure that all housing consumers are protected.

The Act also broadens the definition of "build" to include additions, alterations, renovations, and repairs. Anyone undertaking such construction work must register as a home builder. 

"These amendments strengthen the NHBRC's regulatory framework and ensure comprehensive protection for housing consumers across all types of building activities. They aim to provide warranty protection against structural defects and promote ethical standards in the sector,” she says. “We are also rolling out stakeholder engagement workshops across the provinces... allowing for a better understanding of our mandate.”

Skills recognition and transformation

The NHBRC is also implementing key initiatives to promote transformation, sustainability, and skills development. “We are focusing on skills recognition, transformation, and green technologies in response to climate change,” says Bouwer.

“A central focus of our current work is formalising the skills and expertise of experienced but informally trained artisans. For example, bricklayers whose craftsmanship exceeds formal standards — the NHBRC is developing mechanisms to recognise prior learning and validate indigenous construction skills. We think this approach will support both the artisans and the broader industry by integrating local knowledge into formal training curricula.”

Accountability and enforcement

The Act introduces new mechanisms to ensure accountability across the industry. It provides for a home builder grading system, which evaluates key performance information relating to home builders’ obligations.

The Act classifies transgressions into administrative non-compliance and substantive non-compliance. A home builder who commits an act of administrative non-compliance may be issued with an Administrative Penalty Notice, failing which the NHBRC may cancel  or suspend the registration of a home builder, amend the home builder’s grading or refuse to process any application for registration.

For substantive non-compliance, the NHBRC investigates and issues a compliance notice directing the person to cease, correct or reverse the transgression. “If the person fails to comply with the Compliance Notice and does not object, the NHBRC can take the matter to the Compliance and Enforcement Committee to requesting it to impose an administrative fine.”

The Act also provides stronger consumer protection by “affording early cover, easy access to the builder during construction, as opposed to after occupation, and the extension of the roof leak cover to 24 months”.

Penalties are significantly stricter than before, with fines for contravening the Act now reaching up to 10% of the project value, 100% of the remedial costs incurred, or a maximum of R1 million – compared to the previous cap of R25 000.

Consumer education and innovation

Consumer confidence remains central to the NHBRC’s mandate. Each quarter, the council conducts consumer education programmes across all provinces, focusing on informing housing consumers about their rights, responsibilities and the recourse mechanisms available to them. These engagements take place through community outreach initiatives, mall activations, City of Johannesburg's Thuso-House and municipal information centres, and rural builder registration drives.

The NHBRC will, next year, host the Innovative Building Technology (IBT) Summit to review progress made in promoting IBTs, address existing challenges such as funding and policy gaps, and set clear goals to support the Minister of Human Settlements in delivering sustainable, climate-resilient housing over the next five years.

“We are committed to validating and monitoring the performance of these technologies to ensure they meet quality standards, are energy-efficient, and respond effectively to South Africa's climatic conditions,” Bouwer says.