Access to adequate housing is one of the most debated issues in democratic South Africa. The government continues to battle with existing backlogs in the provision of housing and a seemingly increasing demand. At the same time, urban populations take to the streets to register their anger and frustration at the slow progress of service delivery as a whole, including housing and other basic services. Clearly, this is an important issue in the country, one that has inspired great public debate and further engagement between the state and the people. Notably, this dissatisfaction endures despite the fact that South Africa’s post-apartheid government discourse on state-society relations has centered on greater participation, especially at the local government level, as reflected in the commitment to participatory democracy in the South African constitution.

Despite this, in general, government housing policy has focused on ensuring the delivery of houses to the people rather than the participatory processes in the provision of housing. The 1994 Housing White Paper took an ‘incremental’ or ‘progressive’ approach to the house, which is a developer-driven approach that limits the participation of ordinary citizens in the provision of housing, despite the government’s commitment to enabling participation. The introduction of the People’s Housing Process (PHP) in 1998 (later revised and became the Enhanced People’s Housing Process) was a breakthrough in the government’s efforts for the involvement of communities in the housing process. However, even this initiative was criticized for its lack of any meaningful participation, as the contribution of individual residents and communities was limited to the implementation process, while the policy decisions were still in government hands. The revision of this policy and the broadening of the housing policy through Breaking New Ground was meant to encourage community ownership of housing provision and empower them beyond the limitations of the PHP.