Cosmo City – A place to call home!

During September 2004, National Cabinet approved the “Breaking New Ground” – Comprehensive Plan for Creation of Sustainable Human Settlements that now forms the basis of Government’s housing policy.

The Gauteng Department of Housing and City of Johannesburg in partnership with CODEVCO (Pty) Limited have embarked on integrated housing project that will see housing delivery changing for the better by targeting all sectors of our communities to ensure that they have access to proper housing and shelter irrespective of their background and economic status.

The development of Cosmo City ensures that people with mixed scales of income can be accommodated collectively on the project, thus ensuring a sustainable community within the boundaries of Cosmo City.

The different forms of houses that are catered for on the Cosmo City Project are:

• 5000 RDP Houses – these houses are to be allocated to families from the Zevenfontein and Riverbend informal settlements whose gross income does not exceed R3500 per month. To date over 1200 homes are under construction and 662 families have occupied their homes.
  
  
• 3000 Finance linked houses - these houses are marketed to families whose gross monthly income does not exceed R7000. Applicants who qualify for a mortgage bond and a Goverment subsidy may apply for these homes.
  
  
• 3300 bonded houses – these houses are marketed to families whose gross monthly income exceeds R7000 and the 4 major banks then grant a mortgage bond for these homes. 1800 of these houses have been sold to date and over 400 are under construction.

The Cosmo City Project is situated adjacent to Kya Sands and is in close proximity of the Randburg and Sandton CBD. The project covers an area of 1100 hectares, of which over 200 hectares have been preserved as public open spaces and conservation areas.

The Cosmo City Project also includes 15 schools, clinics, libraries, churches, taxi ranks, shopping centres, business sites, petrol station and an industrial site, thus ensuring a fully sustainable town.

The Project will ensure that the children are able to attend the same schools, share the recreation facilities and grow up together without the discrimination of income, race or religion - thus ensuring a totally cosmopolitan society.

In association with the Department of Housing, Talk Radio 702, FNB and M5 Housing are facilitating the launch of a new product as part of the 3000 finance linked housing project at Cosmo City.

Seven hundred and two houses will be made available to successful applicants who have qualified for a mortgage bond from First National Bank and a housing subsidy which is granted by the Department of Housing, Gauteng.

Each application will be subject to the qualification criteria of both the bank and the Department of Housing.

And so says the National Minister of Housing, Lindiwe Sisulu - “Finally we have come to this, this is what the people of South Africa have asked for: a decent home”.