Estimated to be a multi-billion rand sector, the developments are providing much-needed accommodation for the Gap market - those who fall out of both social housing sector and being able to access a bond.

Micro-developers build places that vary from backyard shacks to bricks and mortar top-quality apartments with high-end finishes.

“We preach that you should build so you you can live in it,” says Cynthia Ngxukuma, owner of property management company, Bukholethu Property Management.

These developments include up to 20-plus units, are often double-storey, sometimes three storeys, and vary in size from about 10m² to about 40m². Rentals range between R800 and R4500 – already an increase from what it was a few years back.

Some even have braai facilities and laundromats.

One development, a 24m² micro-flat, includes a safe place to park a car and is let for about R3 500 a month to a nurse. It has a window, its own entrance and is on the top floor of the six-unit development. The inside is painted white and the tenant has a bed, a cupboard and a table. To the side is a bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower and a small kitchenette – pretty similar to the layout of the 20m² apartments selling in the Atlantic seaboard and the city centre.

Some developments have shared amenities and go for less.

Innovation is high with one landlord hiring a “granny” to look after tenants’ children while the tenants went to work.

Renters include professionals such as nurses, teachers, tradesmen, security guards, big retail managers and till operators, says Ngxukuma.