Abstract
South Africa is facing challenges in executing sustainable social housing, particularly in underdeveloped areas such as the Free State. This study examines the challenges to implementing sustainable practices in social housing in South Africa. This is despite existing policies. Green housing provides long-term advantages, including reduced living expenses for beneficiaries and enhanced living conditions and general quality of life. Its implementation is still hindered by high capital requirements, stakeholder resistance, and weaknesses in institutional capacity. The inadequate environmental performance of South African RDP houses, primarily due to materials such as asbestos. These pose health hazards to occupants and the environment, underscoring the necessity for sustainable housing options. Constructing social housing responsibly is essential, particularly in South Africa. The country confronts water constraints, energy deficits, and elevated carbon emissions. This paper proposes solutions to eliminate or reduce the obstacles to sustainable social housing, facilitating the implementation of green social housing in South Africa. The obstacles to social housing were delineated through a literature review. Subsequently, they were quantitatively assessed by 30 housing specialists, consultants, technicians, municipal officials, contractors, and engineers, using a Likert Scale. The data was further analyzed via Hierarchical and K-means clustering to categorize related barriers and identify patterns. The results indicated that elevated capital expenditures, insufficient comprehension among beneficiaries and other stakeholders, and poor regulatory support constituted the primary barriers to green social housing. These hurdles persist despite established policy frameworks. This is mostly due to a lack of comprehension among policy managers and insufficient creativity within the public sector. Consequently, the study advocates for implementation in partnership with the business sector to furnish funds and creative concepts. Tax rebates were suggested to incentivize more participation among recipients in these schemes.