South Africa faces a notable gap in the housing, market – people who earn too much to be eligible for a free government basic house and earn too little to qualify for a home loan. The Department of Human Settlements, through its agency, The National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC), provides a First Home Finance subsidy to help them finance the building or purchase of their first home. Breaking New Ground visits, the Syferfontein project in Pacaltsdorp, George, and Diamond City in Mamelodi, which have sections of the development, especially allocated to the beneficiaries of this subsidy.

This episode shows the process of upgrading an informal settlement. In Isipingo, KwaZulu–Natal, we meet the residents of the informal settlement who are waiting for their new houses alongside the team tasked with upgrading the informal settlement and providing housing. The project is in its infancy, with the team ensuring that the roads and municipal infrastructure are in place before the construction begins. The Bhambayi project in Inanda is at a more advanced stage, with the actual houses currently being built in Riverside, near Diepsloot in Gauteng.

The Department of Human Settlements has launched a program to help address the backlog of allocating title deeds to their owners. We visit Limpopo, where the people of Seshego Ext 133 receive title deeds to the houses they have been allocated, some as far back as 2019.

In the season’s premiere, Breaking New Ground explores transformation in the South African real estate industry. This industry has been exclusive, with high barriers to entry, for women and the youth. This episode showcases an initiative by the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), an agency of the Department of Human Settlements, in partnership with established real estate agencies, to empower women and youth to participate in this lucrative sector.

Breaking New Ground examines the lives of young people who are working in leadership technical positions in the built environment. In Gauteng, we meet a young civil engineer and project manager who oversees the Western Mega Project, a development in Randfontein.