Housing in Eswatini

Eswatini's housing system combines formal, customary and informal arrangements. The main pathways are rural homesteads on Swazi Nation Land, urban or private property on Title Deed Land, leasehold plots, private rentals, housing allocated through government or employers, and housing provided through the Eswatini Housing Board (EHB). Hhohho and Manzini have experienced disproportionate growth, including peri-urban informal settlements. Around 69% of housing arrangements were owner-occupied, 18.4% rented and 10.8% government-allocated in the available national data. Renting accounted for about 40% of urban arrangements and 12% of rural arrangements. Swazi Nation Land, abbreviated SNL, is held by the King in trust for the Swazi Nation. Chiefs and traditional structures generally allocate land for a homestead head's ordinary residential use. The resulting customary use or occupation right normally does not include a title deed. SNL land cannot generally be sold, freely transferred, leased or used as mortgage collateral. A permanent move may require surrendering the land to the competent authority. The Constitution provides equal access to land without gender discrimination, but state reports record continuing access barriers for women in some chiefdoms. Local boundaries, succession, consent and customary authority can therefore affect security of occupation. Title Deed Land, or TDL, is land recorded in the deeds system. A title deed supports formal sale, transfer, leasing and mortgage security, subject to checks on the title, land use and transaction documents. The Registrar of Deeds records deeds of transfer, leases, mortgage bonds, servitudes and related rights. A conveyancer, the Surveyor-General and the Deeds Registry are commonly involved in an urban purchase or secured transaction. Search costs, registration charges, stamp duties and professional fees vary by property and transaction. Crown Land and other urban plots may involve the Department of Housing and Human Settlements, the Human Settlements Authority, a Town Planning Board and the relevant ministry or local authority. The Department's service charter indicates about two weeks for a land application and a maximum of 60 months for a full-ownership transaction, although actual timing depends on the case and approvals. A 99-year leasehold can provide a formal urban development arrangement without being the same as freehold title. The Housing Policy 2001 seeks affordable shelter, services, secure tenure, land access, water, sanitation and waste management, but available government reporting describes implementation as fiscally inadequate and the policy as outdated. Private rentals are usually based on a lease or tenancy contract with a landlord. The Human Settlements Authority has a mandate relating to lease standardisation, rent control and real-estate regulation, but the Residential Tenancies Bill was reported as drafted and forwarded for further government action; its commencement is not established by the available research. There is no reliable evidence of a current nationwide residential-tenancy tribunal, mandatory rental register or uniform rent-control practice. Rent, deposits, repairs, privacy, termination and additional charges therefore depend heavily on the contract and applicable law. A tenant should keep the signed agreement, payment records, notices and repair communications. A dispute may proceed through the courts or a competent local body, depending on its type; self-help eviction is not a safe general standard. Government and employer housing is allocated through institutional rules and is linked to employment or public service. It should not be treated as a general entitlement to social housing. The EHB has a legal mandate covering affordable rental housing, housing for disposal, urban plots and houses on title-deed land, and housing finance. It reports more than 1,000 affordable rental units and numerous plots and houses, but current eligibility rules, financing products and terms are not fully published. Sectional Title under the Sectional Titles Act 2018 and Regulations 2020 allows separate ownership of units or sections together with shared common property. Its use is relevant to urban multi-unit housing, although registry and surveying capacity remains limited. Informal settlements and townships are a separate practical pathway. A formal township generally involves the Human Settlements Authority or ministry process. Settlements outside that process may lack formal planning, secure tenure or complete service connections. Government work on formalisation and upgrading is focused on urban areas, while rural SNL planning generally requires an invitation from traditional leadership. This can affect road access, sanitation, building legality and the risk of relocation. A person renting or buying should check the landlord's or seller's authority, the land status, utilities, sanitation, building legality, charges, deposit, repair duties and termination terms. For a TDL or Crown Land purchase, a title search, survey information, conveyancing review and the intended deed, lease or mortgage documents should be examined. A building application generally requires Form A, working drawings, a site plan showing road access and boundaries, a location map, sewerage, drainage and water plans, and, where required, structural-engineer material. Applications normally require five copies and an application fee. Mbabane City Council and Manzini City Council decide building matters within their jurisdictions; elsewhere the Principal Secretary of the ministry is responsible. Departmental technical review is stated as taking about six weeks, and an appeal can be filed with the Building Appeals Tribunal within 14 days. Urban authorities and town boards manage local services, building inspections, refuse and sanitation. The Eswatini Water Services Corporation, or EWSC, operates and maintains sewerage systems in towns and Rural Growth Centres. National Fire and Emergency Services reviews fire-safety aspects of building applications. Available MICS 2021-2022 figures show electricity access for 82.7% of household members, electricity supplied through mains connections in 79.8% of homes, off-grid electricity in 0.6% and no electricity in 19.5%. Clean cooking access was about 56.5% nationally, 85% in urban areas and 39% in rural areas. Internet at home was reported at 62.8% nationally, 69.4% in urban areas and 58.8% in rural areas. Finished floors, roofs and walls were reported in 97.2%, 98.1% and 94.2% of homes respectively, but sleeping space remained limited: 44.1% had one sleeping room, 27.3% had two and 28.6% had at least three. Water and sanitation vary sharply by location. Available 2022 reporting places improved or safe drinking-water access at about 77% nationally, 95% in urban areas and 72% in rural areas. Basic sanitation was about 58% nationally, 49% in urban areas and 61% in rural areas. The 2017 Census recorded 20,319 of 265,435 housing units without their own toilet facility and counted 283 people as homeless. National rent, purchase-price, deposit and mortgage-rate series were not identified from a reliable current official source. Housing costs therefore vary with land type, urban or rural location, service availability, title status, developer, local authority, construction and maintenance needs. Ending or changing housing depends on the arrangement. A TDL sale, transfer or lease cancellation normally uses a conveyancer and the Deeds Registry. SNL does not permit ordinary sale or free assignment, so a permanent change may require surrender through the customary or competent authority. Private rental termination follows the lease and applicable law, while EHB and government housing follow their contracts or allocation rules. Farm occupants, informal-settlement residents and SNL households may face particular relocation risks. Constitutional property protection, due process and compensation for improvements can become relevant, while the Farm Dwellers Control Act 1982 remains under review.