The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) maintains that its debt to the Private Student Housing Association (PSHA) is not a significant cause of the current student housing shortages.
In January 2025, the PSHA warned that it would deny NSFAS-funded students accommodation unless the financial aid scheme settled an outstanding debt of R44 million owed to landlords.
NSFAS Administrator, Freeman Nomvalo, stated that the amount reported in the media was inaccurate. “I can confirm that there is an amount of R44 million that was recently outstanding, and our teams are processing that payment.”
Nomvalo admitted that while NSFAS does owe money to landlords, the debt is not R44 million. He added that NSFAS is engaging with stakeholders to verify the exact amounts owed to accommodation providers.“Our records
show a different figure, which is why I previously stated in the media that to resolve such issues, we need to sit down, review invoices, and verify any payments made
The payment of private accommodation providers is crucial to the student funding system, as universities lack sufficient on-campus housing and rely on private landlords to accommodate the overflow.
This housing shortage was highlighted at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), where hundreds of students recently protested the lack of accommodation.
Although Nomvalo argued that overdue payments to private landlords were not a major factor in housing shortages at institutions like CPUT, he acknowledged that universities cannot house all their students. Frustrated students often blame the institutions for what they see as a failure to provide adequate accommodation.
CPUT reported that it had resolved previous housing backlogs, but demand continues to grow as new students seek accommodation.
Accommodation Accreditation
To address housing shortages, NSFAS introduced an accommodation pilot project to increase the availability of accredited student housing at 17 South African universities and 23 TVET colleges. The initiative aims to provide safer, higher-quality student housing by working directly with accredited private providers through a new digital platform.
The system is designed to help students find accommodation that meets safety and quality standards. However, it has faced criticism from groups like the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) due to limited access and functionality.
OUTA has expressed concern that NSFAS has not accredited enough housing to meet student demand.
Nomvalo acknowledged the shortfall in accredited beds but attributed this to broader issues, including years of underinvestment in student accommodation and rising enrolment numbers.
There is a shortage of student housing nationwide. NSFAS has accredited a certain number of beds, but there are simply not enough beds available for accreditation. The growing demand is linked to increased enrolment at higher education institutions
Nomvalo reassured private accommodation providers that the government bursary scheme would pay for the housing of NSFAS-funded students.
