Abstract
Despite the efforts of the African National Congress (ANC) and its alliance partners to provide adequate housing for eligible South Africans, several South Africans, particularly black Female-Headed Households (FHHs), continue to live in poor housing that lacks basic services such as water, electricity, and waste management. This reduces their quality of life and overall well-being. Additionally, black FHHs are systematically marginalised and excluded from socio-economic opportunities, which also affects their quality of life. This is the reason why this qualitative study explored the housing experiences and subjective well-being of black FHHs residing in the Katlehong Township, South Africa. Prior to the full study being done, a pilot study was conducted with one black female in Katlehong who met the study criteria. Using the purposive snowball sampling method, the researcher selected eight participants from Katlehong. They participated in semi-structured interviews, which provided in-depth insight into their housing experience and subjective well-being in relation to their housing. The social exclusion and social development theoretical frameworks were employed to analyse the data. The study’s findings showed that there is no universal definition of housing, as it is viewed through various lenses, e.g. as a physical structure, as an entity linked to the community, and as a socio-economic project. In addition, black FHHs in Katlehong live in poor housing environments where there are high crime rates, which is an unsafe environment for them and their children. Similarly, inadequate housing and a lack of service delivery negatively affected participants’ physical well-being, with reports of ailments as a result of poor ventilation, dust, cold conditions, and a lack of waste management in the community. The study also noted that inadequate housing takes emotional and psychological toll, as participants expressed feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, and sadness. Despite these challenges, the participants emphasised community support and the strength of social relationships in the community, which contributes positively to their social well-being. Although cultural expression remained significant, some participants were restricted by space constraints. For purposes of community development practice, it is recommended that there should be continuous research into the needs of community members and improving basic service delivery in Katlehong. It is also recommended that policymakers should assist in providing RDP houses.