The long-awaited document hopes to meaningfully transform an industry that has long been the preserve of white males.

But Andi Tondi, chairman of the executive committee of the property sector transformation committee, says the first draft will not include any targets but will outline the principles of the charter, its scope, objectives and why it is necessary.

The property sector transformation committee comprises representatives from the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners, commercial property association Sapoa, the Women's Property Network, the Estate Agency Affairs Board, the South African Black Technical and Allied Career Organisation, the South African Council of Shopping Centres and the Institute of Estate Agents of SA.

Tondi says they hope to have targets for the property industry ready by the end of February and are awaiting research on the state of the industry by Mohlaleng Strategy & Investment Consultancy, which has been involved in the financial services charter.

The property charter is expected to be ready by June next year.

Tondi says that initially there was not much cooperation between all the stakeholders, but everyone is now on board. "It's moving quite smoothly," says Tondi.

The committee has also appointed task teams to look into different components of scorecards.

He says there is a team looking at ownership and control in the industry, another looking at employment equity and human resource issues like skills development, a third dealing with corporate social responsibility, a fourth focusing on enterprise development and a fifth dealing with procurement issues.

"We hope when the research results come back, the task teams will be able to inform the industry how transformed it is," says Tondi.

He emphasises the charter will not just focus on ownership in property companies or ownership of properties, but will be about making sure that all opportunities within the property industry are accessible to all people.

Tondi says that once the first draft is out, they expect contributions from individuals . He says the committee will hold forums in all the provinces from January to March to debate the charter .

He says they are hoping the costs of the property charter process will be funded by the property industry itself. Three players have committed funds to cover a third of the estimated R2m cost.