Factors Affecting Indoor Environmental Qualities of Social-Housing Projects in South Africa

The South African housing delivery plan faces various economic and social challenges, which include a high unemployment rate, low income, a huge housing backlog, and a lack of infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is the ability of a building to deliver adequate indoor environment beyond occupant’s expectation. These expectations include the occupant’s health, well-being, and productivity among others which are often not considered during the design stages of social-housing projects. This paper presents the results of IEQ of social-housing projects in South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative, where a questionnaire survey was constructed and distributed to occupants of social-housing in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Analysis of the primary data collected was conducted using descriptive statistics procedures. The findings revealed that the major factors affecting IEQ of social-housing occupants were indoor air quality parameters, level of privacy, acoustics sound between the units and level of visual comfort among other factors. Also, the occupants were not satisfied with the overall state of their IEQ which was driven by the above factors. Thus, creating a provision for IEQ aspects during the design and administration phases of social-housing projects will make social-housing more desirable in South Africa.