The instability challenges at the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) are not theoretical for landlords and accommodation providers.
Earlier this month, Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela placed the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) under administration due to governance instability within the institution.
The decision, announced during a media briefing on Monday, follows what the Minister described as a prolonged period of governance challenges, legal concerns and operational weaknesses that threatened the stability and credibility of NSFAS.
Manamela said the move was taken in terms of sections 17A to 17D of the NSFAS Act, 1999, after “careful consideration of the legal, governance, financial and operational circumstances” affecting the institution.
The South African National Student Accommodation Association (SANSAA) notes the decision by Manamela to place the NSFAS under administration and appoint Professor Hlengani Mathebula as Administrator.
Each new board, administrator, or executive leadership structure arrives with promises of reform, stability, and improved payments, says Duncan Monks, the chairperson at the South African National Student Accommodation Association (SANSAA).
He says that while SANSAA acknowledges the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Manamela’s assurance that student funding and allowances will not be interrupted, they remain deeply concerned that yet another change in NSFAS leadership further entrenches the revolving-door governance crisis at the entity.
“Yet accommodation providers continue to face delayed payments, unresolved reconciliation issues, absent remittance advice, and uncertainty around rental rates,” Monks says.
The organisation, which says it has affiliates representing approximately 300 000 student beds, says NSFAS has now been placed under administration for the third time since 2018, a clear indication that short-term interventions are no longer sufficient.
It says it is particularly alarmed by the growing number of student accommodation providers in the City of Tshwane and across the country facing electricity disconnections due to outstanding municipal accounts.
“These disconnections are not merely administrative matters; they are a direct reflection of the worsening financial strain facing the sector.”
Expectations on landlords’ NSFAS rental rates for 2026 remain unresolved, and payments continue to be delayed
Landlords are expected to continue housing NSFAS-funded students while absorbing increasing municipal tariffs, rising electricity costs, water charges, security expenses, maintenance inflation, interest rate pressures, and operational overheads, all while NSFAS rental rates for 2026 remain unresolved and payments continue to be delayed, SANSAA says.
According to the association, the reality is that many landlords are reaching a point where they may no longer be financially capable of sustaining operations under the current conditions.
It says the consequences of this instability ultimately affect students directly. “Electricity interruptions, service disruptions, deferred maintenance, and operational cutbacks undermine the quality, safety, and dignity of student accommodation.
“No accommodation provider should be expected to operate indefinitely without payment certainty while municipalities intensify debt recovery measures against property owners.”
SANSAA says it calls on the administrator and the minister to urgently prioritise:
- Finalisation of the 2026 private student accommodation rental rate;
- Immediate payment of all outstanding landlord claims;
- Proper remittance and invoice reconciliation systems;
- Direct, structured engagement with accommodation associations;
- Protection of student housing providers from systemic payment instability; and
- A long-term institutional solution for student accommodation outside NSFAS’s unstable operating environment.
Call for an independent student accommodation authority
According to Monks, student accommodation is a major national asset class requiring investor confidence,
predictable policy, and professional administration. He says they therefore reiterate their call for an independent student accommodation authority to manage accreditation, grading, compliance, and payment systems.
“South Africa cannot continue to fund students through an institution that remains trapped in recurring governance instability. Students deserve certainty. Landlords deserve payment. The sector deserves leadership that lasts beyond crisis management.”
In February, Inga Ncomanzi, CEO at the South African Student Accommodation Providers Association (SASAPA), said as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepared to table the 2026 National Budget, the student accommodation sector stands at a crossroads.
She said that for years, student accommodation providers have bridged the gap between the state’s educational promises and the physical reality of a student’s need for a safe place to sleep.
“However, the current model is fraying. To ensure the sustainability of this vital sector, we are looking for a budget that moves beyond mere survival toward strategic growth,” Ncomanzi said then.
At the time, the association called for Inflation-Linked Rate Adjustments, Prompt Payment Guarantees: Incentives for New Developments, Utility Relief, amongst other things.
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