Why Eastlands' estates continue to lose value

Tassia estate in Eastlands, Nairobi. [File, Standard]

Most estates in the eastern part of Nairobi are increasingly losing value due to poor drainage system and shoddy jobs done by construction firms and contractors.

This has put many residents who stay in these areas in a quagmire situation, especially when the drainage water and sewer pipes burst open, which has been happening at an alarming rate.

According to civil engineer Steve Omondi Onyango, a building contractor, the concept of housing estates is currently losing meaning in most parts of Nairobi as developers are doing shoddy construction work.

He says, most of the developers don't take into consideration the requirements that make an estate meet the required standards.

Estates are usually built by a single contractor with only a few designs of houses, so they tend to be uniform in appearance. An estate can range from detached houses to high-density tower blocks with or without commercial facilities. In Europe and America, these types of houses take the form of town housing or the industrial revolution, detached or semi-detached houses with small plots or lands around them transformed to gardens.

"Housing estates are the usual form of residential design used in towns, where they are designed as an autonomous suburb, centred around a small commercial centre. Such estates are usually designed in a way to minimise through traffic flows and further provide recreational spaces to the children," said Onyango, who is also Perspects Constructions Ltd chief executive.

However, most of the private housing estates in Nairobi's Eastlands lack these necessities, with some residential houses built too close to each other, thus creating little room for footpaths, roads and playing grounds for children.

For instance, Buruburu, Kariobangi South, Pioneer, Donholm, Green Span, and Greenfields were once posh estates for the middle-class, but they have lost their glory and value due to a lack of proper planning of the infrastructure. This has resulted in an improper drainage system and a lack of facilities.

Rainy seasons pose a major challenge to the residents of these estates.

Sewage disposal and garbage collection are other serious problems in Eastland, especially in these estates.

This has now forced the tenants to hire private garbage collectors to collect the garbage over the weekends.

Water rationing is constant even during rainy seasons when the Ndakaini dam is full, and for security lights, they can sometimes go for months without operating.

All these challenges have reduced rent in these estates by at least Sh5,000 for main houses. According to the Real Estate Associates Ltd chief executive, urban expansion programmes have changed things in Eastlands for the better.

Ayoro says most people are now buying lands and plots along Kangundo roads where they can build their houses, using own designs - rendering these houses less attractive.

He advises the counties to move with speed and address these challenges that are affecting many estates.