High rent driving many to unfinished houses

A section of Pipeline estate, where residents live in buildings that are still under construction.[Anyango Otieno, Standard]

Milka Ayuma, a 22-year-old mother of one, is at peace living in her house in Transami in Pipeline estate. She lives on the second floor of a building that is still under construction.

There are plans for three more floors in the building.

She found the house courtesy of the construction supervisor. The owner of the building had no idea there were tenants in his incomplete structure.

For a while, the supervisor collected and pocketed the rent, which was far below market rates for the area. It was an arrangement that worked well for both sides.

“Recently, the landlord found out that people were occupying these houses and he raised the rent from Sh4,000 to Sh5,000,” said Ms Ayuma.

She is not worried about the ongoing construction or the danger of falling debris. None of the tenants are. The houses are cheap and spacious even if not in the best of conditions - there is no running water and the sinks block all the time. Maybe things will improve once the building is completed.

“When it rains, water comes into the house from an unknown place. And the blocking of the sink is a sign of poor drainage,” she said.

Ken Ombajo, also a resident of Pipeline, said poor pay and lack of employment were the reasons why people opted to settle in such houses. They are affordable.

Risks involved

“People do not care about the risks involved in occupying such houses. All they want is a cheap place to live and life goes on,” said Mr Ombajo.

He said landlords allowed it so they could cash in and get the money needed to continue with the construction.

“Some of these landlords take loans to build these houses. So they first build the first and second floors as well as some shops on the ground floor for people to occupy so they can repay the loan, and then continue building other floors at the tenants' expense,” he added.

Ombajo blames corruption, saying Government officials who are supposed to inspect construction sites and address any illegalities are doing nothing.

“The people concerned should come and inspect these houses and issue vacate notices, and ensure that the tenants stay away until the constructions are complete. But we do not see that happening,” he said.

In a telephone interview, National Building Inspectorate Chairman Moses Nyakiongora said it was generally unacceptable for people to occupy houses that were still under construction because the construction site was unsafe.

Major renovations

"Even while doing major renovations, house owners are supposed to vacate before work begins," he said.

Although Mr Nyakiongora admitted that there was no express law against occupying an incomplete building, it is a general practice that if a building is under construction, it does not have a certificate of occupancy.

"The same applies to buildings under major renovation," he added.

According to a report by the city’s building inspectorate, 640 houses in the city are classified as "very dangerous" to live in.