NSFAS fails to pay accommodation rent, opening window for landlords to evict students

Students march to the NSFAS head office in Cape Town on 24 May 2023 South Africa to protest against the scheme’s payment methods. NSFAS appeared before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education on 27 November yto outline its readiness plan for the 2025 academic year. (Photo: Brenton Geach / Gallo Images)

By Siyabonga Goni

1 May 2025

With the National Student Financial Aid Scheme repeatedly missing accommodation payments, landlords burdened by unpaid bills are evicting students, leaving many stranded during critical exams.

Some accommodation providers have begun evicting students after the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) failed to pay rent for months.

Since the start of 2025, NSFAS has delayed making payments a number of times, pushing landlords to their limits. In March 2025, while under pressure, the scheme brought its payment date forward from 4 April to 31 March 2025, but many providers still haven’t been paid. NSFAS pleaded with accommodation providers not to remove students, but for many, patience has run out.

Kagisho Mamabolo, CEO of the Private Student Housing Association (PSHA), which represents developers and operators managing more than 80,000 student beds nationwide, told Daily Maverick that, as of 3 April, NSFAS still owed landlords R27-million in payments related to 2024.

That amount had since increased owing to delayed payments from 2025.

The new arrears have largely been attributed to NSFAS’s new payment system, which involves using outside service providers – what it refers to as “solution partners” – to check whether accommodation options are accredited. Mamabolo said landlords have to wait for these solutions partners to get their money and this is where the delay occurs.

In an SABC interview on 27 April, Mamabolo said the majority of the accommodation providers have not been paid on time.

“With the NSFAS situation, if you are paid today as a landlord, you are not guaranteed next month you’re going to be paid. So we are in a situation where we chase our payments month after month, and we don’t think NSFAS will resolve it this year,” Mamabolo said.

NSFAS Students march to the NSFAS head office in Cape Town on 24 May 2023. They accused the financial aid scheme scheme of ignoring their plight and also criticised the scheme’s new payment methods. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

Mamabolo also told Daily Maverick that the matter of NSFAS paying money to students from TVET colleges to pay the landlord is a breach of contract. Earlier in April, students were paid R13,800, meant for allowances, but after some time NSFAS communicated that students must pay R10,800 to landlords.

Read more: TVET accommodation crisis: NSFAS disbursement errors lead to student evictions and financial chaos

“NSFAS has violated its own lease agreement with landlords. There is nowhere in the lease agreement that the tenant should pay. We are asking NSFAS how practical is this, because it is not the tenant who is violating the lease agreement, it is the funder who failed to pay rent,” Mamabolo said.

Students’ ordeal

Daily Maverick spoke to NSFAS-funded students from Nelson Mandela University (NMU) and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) who were kicked out of their accommodations.

One NMU student, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “We received a message from a group saying NSFAS did not pay for the two previous months and they said they will evict us because they could not sustain us. I and a few were kicked out even though some students stayed.

“This has affected me immensely. I found a student that I am now living with, but I am close to writing my examination and I worry because how am I going to study without a place to stay? This has really affected me because I have no relatives in Port Elizabeth [Gqeberha].”

Another third-year NMU student faced eviction after their landlord demanded they leave due to non-payment by NSFAS.

“We left the residence and students from EFF were contacted to come and assist us by liaising with the institution. We ended up staying at the residence,” the student said.

In Nelson Mandela Bay, The Herald recently reported that landlords are threatening to evict hundreds of students over three months of unpaid rent from NSFAS.

In Tshwane, a TUT student, who also wanted to remain anonymous, described her ordeal. She said her landlords told her to pay R10,000 if she wanted to stay because NSFAS had not paid yet.

“The contract I had with the landlord said if NSFAS failed to pay within the first month, they are supposed to evict me, but they did not. We then waited for NSFAS and the rent money accumulated. Later, they told me I have to move out because NSFAS hasn’t paid…

“I was under a lot of pressure and panicking… The landlord said I have to pay the R10,000 or stay and the money will accumulate, so I moved out,” said the student.

Read more: Uncovering the truth: Nsfas’s ghost students claim sparks controversy over accommodation payments

A Tshwane accommodation provider, who wanted to remain anonymous fearing victimisation from NSFAS, told Daily Maverick that NSFAS blindsided accredited private providers by limiting TUT housing options to two residences with a total of 2,000 beds, excluding hundreds of accommodation providers who have housed students since February 2024.

“The situation is very dire. A lot of our accommodation providers are owed monies from last year and NSFAS said they cannot accredit these people because they did not follow a process, yet we got offer letters from NSFAS through solution partners to accommodate students…

“There is electricity, WiFi, transport services, caretakers, maintenance – we can’t carry housing students anymore to the next month without payments because now we don’t have money. Our properties are getting deregistered by the bank and they’re getting repossessed,” said the accommodation provider.

NSFAS protest Students march to the NSFAS head office in Cape Town on 24 May 2023 South Africa to protest against the scheme’s payment methods. NSFAS appeared before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education on 27 November to outline its readiness plan for the 2025 academic year. (Photo: Brenton Geach / Gallo Images)

NSFAS response

NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi told Daily Maverick that the scheme acknowledges the delays but insists that verification is necessary and payments will be made.

“We deeply value the role that accommodation providers play in supporting our students… The verification process is inherently complex, involving multiple checks to ensure compliance with NSFAS and government regulations.

“This process is meant to ensure that NSFAS does not pay ghost students, who are neither funded by NSFAS nor enrolled in any public university or college. The verification process is currently ongoing for all the claims that are currently unpaid and feedback is provided to all landlords through our solution partners,” said Mnisi.

Mnisi explained to Daily Maverick that TUT was designed to serve a specific need with a defined capacity, and the decision to limit accommodation funding to 2,000 beds was based on anticipated student demand.

“NSFAS will not make a decision to ‘cut off’ accommodation without clear communication and agreement with the institution involved, particularly when such accommodation is still necessary.

“The principles of supply and demand are also applicable in this context. If there are any legitimate students from the University of Tshwane who are currently without accommodation, we encourage them to consult the university immediately for further assistance,” said Mnisi. DM

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South Africa

Students’ ordeal

NSFAS response