Backyard accommodation may offer a lower monthly rent than a formal flat, but tenants can pay a similar or higher price for every square metre. The pattern complicates the idea that township residents remain there solely because city housing is unaffordable.
A tenant paying R3,000 for a 20m² backyard unit may face a lower monthly bill than someone renting a 50m² formal flat for R5,500. But the backyard tenant pays R150 per square metre, compared with R110 per square metre for the flat.
This comparison challenges the assumption that people rent in townships solely because they cannot afford accommodation closer to economic opportunities.
The issue is significant for the property sector as a 2024 policy brief published by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) states that the small-scale rental housing is the fastest growing housing segment in the country.
The policy brief defines small-scale rental housing as accommodation for rental that includes a single room, a full dwelling or two- to three-storey walk-ups provided on an existing dwelling by individual owners or small enterprises.
Burgert Gildenhuys, infrastructure, municipal, and financial specialist at BC Gildenhuys & Associates, said while research supported the view that poor households live in peripheral townships due to an inability to afford accommodation closer to economic opportunities, rental statistics provide a new perspective.
He cited figures that show that basic backyard rooms in Gauteng with shared services rent for approximately R80–R110 per square metre per month. Improved units with private services reach R100–R130 per square metre, while fully self-contained units—featuring a kitchenette, shower, toilet, and private entrance—command between R125 and R160 per square metre.
Data from the National Treasury’s Cities Support Programme (CSP), an initiative housed within Treasury to strengthen city governance and spatial transformation, provides a useful small-scale rental model.
Examining a six-unit development with an average unit size of roughly 25 square metres, the CSP found typical monthly rents range from R1,700 to R2,000 for low-compliance units to R3,000 to R3,600 for fully compliant spaces. Compliance refers to whether the buildings comply with existing land-use planning and building regulations.
Recent academic research highlights a similar structural differentiation. In 2020, a standard Gauteng backyard room with shared ablutions rented for approximately R900 per month, while a self-contained 20m² bachelor unit commanded about R2,800.
These figures overlap substantially with formal metropolitan apartment rentals, where advertised lower-cost flats reflect comparable rental bands:
Central Johannesburg: R95–R160/m²
Central Pretoria: R90–R130/m² (for ordinary older stock)
Durban Central: R95–R165/m²
Gqeberha (Lower-cost stock): R70–R140/m²
Parow & comparable Cape Town markets: R150–R180/m²
“The comparison is indicative, not a formal market index. Advertised rents are not necessarily concluded rents, and backyard units differ considerably in construction, services and location. Nevertheless, the overlap is too significant to ignore,” Gildenhuys said.
He points out that a quality, self-contained backyard unit in Soweto, Tembisa, or Mamelodi can cost as much per square metre as a formal flat in central Johannesburg, Pretoria, or Durban.
Consequently, the affordability advantage of backyard accommodation arises primarily from its compressed size and lower overall monthly commitment, rather than lower unit space costs. For instance, a tenant paying R3,000 for a 20m² backyard unit faces a lower total bill than someone renting a 50m² formal flat for R5,500. Yet, their respective rents stand at R150 and R110 per square metre. The backyard tenant pays less each month while paying a premium for every square metre occupied.
“This is not surprising. Every self-contained unit requires a minimum package of fixed facilities: an entrance, bathroom, kitchenette, plumbing, electrical installation and security. Those costs must be recovered from a very small floor area.”
Gildenhuys emphasises that backyard accommodation achieves affordability largely by compressing housing consumption, a distinction that disrupts the simplistic narrative of financial exclusion. If a household rents a township unit at R140–R150 per square metre while formal central-city alternatives are available at comparable or lower prices, price alone cannot explain the spatial choice.
“This does not prove that township residence is entirely voluntary. Deposits, credit screening, documentary requirements, discrimination, moving costs and limited information can exclude households from the formal rental market even where the advertised monthly rent appears affordable.”
Still, Gildenhuys asserts that "exclusion by price" remains an inadequate explanation. The more pertinent question is not simply why people cannot leave townships, but why many households are prepared to pay competitive metropolitan rents to remain there.
Addressing these dynamics requires looking beyond conventional housing delivery. Shaila Desai, head of the Old Mutual Residential Impact Fund, notes that while residential rental cannot solve South Africa’s housing challenges on its own, it should no longer be dismissed as informal, unproven, or overly complex for institutional capital.
Desai stresses that the country urgently requires more quality rental housing in well-located hubs. Investors require long-term, income-generating assets that diversify portfolios while delivering real-world outcomes—a sweet spot where residential rental sits directly at the intersection.
According to the fund, building investor confidence requires a clearer operational understanding of where value is created within the sector.
given.majola@nationalmg.co.za