Legislation that can hold up property development for three to four years is delaying development in SA, says Johnny Rabie, the chairman of property developer Rabie Property Projects.

Rabie, who raised the issue at the annual convention of commercial property association Sapoa in Durban recently, says there is a lot of property development in the SA market because of the stable economy and low interest-rate environment.

Yet, regulatory approvals such as the environmental impact assessments and development rights approvals needed from local and provincial governments can take up to three to four years.

Countries such as Dubai and China are booming because they are getting approvals in time- spans that make developments feasible.

"We can't make a dent in the massive housing shortage (in SA) if it takes three to four years to get approvals for developments. We could work in a one year to 18-month period."

Rabie says there is a huge demand for commercial and residential property development and ?developers are finding their hands tied?. His property group has been fortunate at its mixed-use site, Century City.

Rabie Property Projects, which has been developing the Century City precinct, bought the site with all the development rights in place.

"This has been of huge benefit. If we had started from scratch, it would have taken years to get the rights," says Rabie.

Business Day
 
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge