What does NHBRC stand for?
NHBRC is an acronym for the National Home Builders Registration Council.

South African legislation established the National Home Builders Registration Council to protect South African consumers building their homes or home-dwellings to rent out.

The goal of the NHBRC and the South African legislation (The Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998) is to create regulation in the home building industry.

The aim is making sure consumers are safe. The NHBRC makes sure all homes, or buildings that will be rented out as homes, are safely constructed, up-to-standard and in-line with what’s promised.

Essentially, an NHBRC Registration Certificate safeguards your clients. The NHBRC is a regulatory body. It holds the home builder accountable for the homes they build and it offers consumers a safety net when that doesn’t happen.

The short answer is yes. There are a few, scarce exceptions, but usually, if you’re involved in building any part of a home-dwelling, you have to register with the NHBRC.

The NHBRC, in association with The Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998, works by establishes a set of standards on what it means to build a safe, secure home-dwelling that’s in line with what’s promised. However, the interesting part is how these standards are enforced.

Almost every person or business involved in the business of home building is required to register with the NHBRC.

The NHBRC and the legislation enforce their standards in a couple of ways. Here they are:

• According to law, your client needs an NHBRC Certificate to get financial backing.
  Your clients can see if you’re registered at the NHBRC on an easy-to-use search function on the official website of the NHBRC. This means you, as a service provider, need to be registered. This also means you need to enroll every home you build too.
  Home Enrollment implies registering every new home you build with the council. The Council will execute the inspection to make sure your work is up to standard.
• Most Construction Tenders, Contracts and RFQs in South Africa require NHBRC Registration.
• Once registered with the NHBRC you’re accountable to rectify anything that doesn’t align with the NHBRC’s standards or the contract you have with your client. If you don’t comply you can face legal charges or fines. We’ll go into the details below.
• The NHBRC offers your clients a guarantee on the homes they enroll at the NHBRC, consequently, clients prefer working with a NHBRC Registered home builder.
  This essentially just implies that your client can put in a claim to get reimbursements when their homes aren’t build-up to NHRBC standards.

So, in short, the NHBRC works by setting the standards on building homes in South Africa. They enforce these standards through the required NHBRC Registration and Home Enrollment.

Yes, you can register at the NHBRC online. As we mentioned in the intro, there are two ways to go about it.

METHOD 1 – DIY (TIME AND ADMIN INTENSIVE)

You can either fill out all the NHBRC paperwork yourself by using the NHBRC’s site as the starting point. This can be a very long and tedious process. There are numerous documents you need and there’s a collection of red tape you need to go through. You might save on costs if you go through the process by yourself, but you will need a lot of time and energy if you want to make sure your registration is successful. Nevertheless, here is the NHBRC’s page relating to paperwork, if you want to try: NHBRC Website Link

METHOD 2 – USING OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES (FAST, SIMPLE AND COST-EFFECTIVE)

Here are the advantages of using our fast-tracked online NHNRC Registration service:

• You get a dedicated consultant that walks you through the entire process.
• It’s almost 100% online and you can be based anywhere in South Africa – this excludes home inspections. The NHBRC executes these inspections.
• You’re sure it’s going to get done. Our team of experts know how to get all your paperwork right. There’s no need for doubts or uncertainties.
• Missing a document in order to complete your NHBRC registration process? Your dedicated consultant will help you get it ASAP. That means no queues and less admin for you. Our experts have your back and they’re taking the reigns on ensuring you get what you need. They can offer you specific company documentation packages to help you grow your businesses too.

These packages really help, because they save you money in the long run. By getting everything in one go, you get a lot of discount.

As mentioned above, you can figure it out the hard way. The hard way is working through the NHBRC’s enrollment documents, and the list of required documents, by yourself…

OR

You can just click or call below to connect with YOUR dedicated expert.

Click here to register Now

Here’s the precise act as stated on the NHBRC’s website. It’s the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act of 1998 (Act No.95 of 1998) and it explains exactly what the NHBRC should do.

If you want to get your hands on the full Act, here you go.

According to the South African law, if you’re involved in building a home for someone and you don’t register at the NHBRC, you may be charged with an offence. This could lead to a hefty fine or imprisonment for 1 year per charge.

If there’s something that isn’t up to par in an NHBRC inspection of your home, the NHBRC will tell you exactly what’s wrong and give you a fair deadline to correct it. Same goes for when your client has compliant about some element that isn’t 100%.

However, clients are limited in when they can put in complaints (it’s always limited to a specific time following the construction). Clients can also only submit complaints that are connected to a lack of compliance with NHBRC standards.

Below I’ll discuss the instances (considering the above) under which a client of yours can put in a complaint.

What does the NHBRC Warranty cover?

If a new home is enrolled at the NHBRC (you have to enroll a building 15 days before starting construction and you have to make sure all NHBRC payments are up to date to ensure enrollment), a client can complain about:

1. Any small mistakes that the house owner/consumer identified within the first three months of moving in.
2. Roof leaks identified by the house owner/consumer within one year from date of moving in.
3. Any big mistakes, like structural defects, that the house owner/consumer identified within the first 5 years of moving in.
4. Defects identified by the housing consumer within the first three[pojnb months of staying there.

If your client submits a complaint, it’s your responsibility to correct the faults within the time the NHBRC gives you to do that.

The NHBRC Certificate is a form of documentation you receive upon enrolment of (enroll) a property or project at the NHBRC. You have to enroll at least 15 days before you start construction (preferably more). Your client would need this to get financial support, but also as a warranty for you completing the work up to standard.

However there’s no need to stress about it, our experts can support you with NHBRC Enrolment too. You’re also welcome to give us a call if you have a few questions.