NSFAS Accreditation Readiness
Know exactly what NSFAS grade your property will get — before it costs you a cycle.
I run your property through the same eleven grading categories NSFAS uses, on the Vumelo grading tool, and give you a straight answer: the grade you are heading for, and the exact gap between that and a better one.
- 7 yearsIn property, not in theory
- 2,000+Students housed
- 51Properties across 5 regions
- 138NSFAS accreditations managed
What is actually at risk
The risk is not a bad property. It is finding out too late.
The 2027 grade cliff
Policy direction is clear: grades D and E are being phased out from 2027, with C to follow. A property scraping a C today is building on ground that is being taken away.
90% still fails
A property can score well across the board and still hard-fail on a single expired certificate. Most landlords have never seen their real number — only the outcome, once it is too late to change it.
The window closes with the cycle
Accreditation runs to the cycle, not to your schedule. Miss it and you wait a year, carrying a building that no NSFAS money can legally reach.
How this works
Three ways in. Every one of them starts with certainty.
Before anyone should spend money on remediation, a submission, or a management mandate, they should know where the property actually stands. That is Layer 1 — and for a lot of landlords it is the only thing they need to buy in order to make a clear-eyed decision.
Layer 1
Accreditation Readiness Assessment
- Your property scored across all eleven NSFAS grading categories on the Vumelo tool
- A clear projection of the grade your property is heading for
- The specific gap between that grade and the next one up
- The hard-fail certificate checklist — the items that void everything else
- Delivered in writing, so you can act on it or hand it straight to a contractor
Layer 2
Full Accreditation Support
- Portal profile created, documentation compiled and formally submitted to NSFAS
- A pre-inspection visit with a written recommendations report before submission
- An MSH representative present at the NSFAS inspection
- Active management of the seven-day grace period, including remediation evidence
- Structured progress meetings through to grading follow-up
Layer 3
Portfolio & Multi-property Support
- Sequenced assessments across every property in the portfolio
- One consolidated remediation plan, prioritised by what moves a grade
- Contractor sourcing and coordination — at cost, with no markup on third-party work
- Furniture, appliance and compliance certificate procurement to NSFAS standard
- A single point of contact until every property is confirmed in writing
All fees exclude VAT at 15%. The NSFAS physical inspection fee is payable by the landlord directly to NSFAS and is not included at any layer.
In their words
Landlords and investors I have worked with.
“Their team anticipates and resolves issues before they escalate, and the regular updates and financial reporting make it a hassle-free experience on my part.”
“I chose My Student House to manage my property and received the best professional service, from renovations to filling the property fast. I am in Johannesburg and it is well managed in Cape Town.”
“They handle the day-to-day of managing student tenants, a task we are grateful not to carry ourselves. My Student House helped us grow our whole portfolio.”
Who this is for
Where are you standing right now?
Not yet accredited
You are locked out of the money. Every month without accreditation is a month of NSFAS-funded students you cannot legally be paid for, no matter how full the building is.
Accredited at C, D or E
2027 is coming for your grade. You need to know the size of the gap to a B now, while there is still a cycle left in which to close it.
Renewing at A or B
You have the most to lose, and it usually goes on something small. One lapsed certificate is enough to undo an otherwise excellent property.
Swap this block for the image.
Nice to meet you
I am Retha van Rooyen.
I started in management consulting, and walked away in 2016 to buy property instead. In 2020 I founded My Student House, because I had already watched too many landlords walk into student accommodation without understanding NSFAS accreditation until it was too late.
My team now manages 51 properties and more than 2,000 students across five regions, and has taken 138 NSFAS accreditations through to confirmation. That gap — between what landlords assume accreditation requires and what it actually requires — is still the one I fill.
Before you book
Questions landlords ask me.
What exactly do I get for R4,500?
Your property scored across all eleven NSFAS grading categories on the Vumelo grading tool, a projection of the grade you are heading for, the specific gap between that and the next grade up, and the hard-fail certificate checklist. It is delivered in writing so you can act on it yourself or hand it directly to a contractor. The fee is flat across all property sizes and excludes VAT.
How is this different from the free scorecard?
The free scorecard is a two-minute fit check — it tells you whether NSFAS-funded students make sense for your property at all. The assessment is the full graded version: every category scored, a projected grade, and a defined gap. One tells you whether to bother. The other tells you exactly where you stand and what it would take to move.
Do you guarantee a grade?
No — and I would be careful of anyone who does. Grading is determined solely by NSFAS. What I sell is certainty about where your property will land and what it would take to land higher. That is the part you can actually control, and it is the part most landlords are missing when they submit.
How fast can you assess?
Most assessments are turned around within five working days of getting access to the property and its documents. Multi-building or part-converted sites take longer, and I will tell you that on the call rather than after you have paid.
What if I need full support afterwards?
Most people do. The assessment report becomes the scoping document for a Layer 2 or Layer 3 engagement, so nothing gets assessed twice — we agree the scope and the quote on a call, working from what the assessment already found. The assessment is designed to make that decision cheaply and early, not to commit you to anything.
Why the note about October to December?
Assessment capacity is genuinely tight from October through December — it is the busiest stretch of the accreditation calendar and I do these personally. It is not a sales tactic, it is a diary. If the timing matters for your cycle, book the call early rather than late.
You can find out now, or find out from NSFAS.
One of those is considerably cheaper than the other.
MSH does not guarantee a specific accreditation outcome, grading level, or processing timeline. Grading is determined solely by NSFAS. All fees exclude VAT at 15%. The NSFAS physical inspection fee is payable by the landlord directly to NSFAS.
Retha van Rooyen · [email protected] · 084 575 1000
