The county government of Nakuru has launched construction of 605 houses under the ambitious Affordable Housing Project.
Principal Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Charles Hinga performed the launch ceremony and said the housing units are part of a larger scheme to deliver 500,000 houses to those in lower-income segments in Kenya towards fulfillment of the Big 4 agenda on housing.
Hinga who was accompanied by Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the low-cost affordable housing units shall be met through budgetary allocation, partnerships between financial institutions, private developers, cooperatives and manufacturers of building materials.
Application
The project is a partnership between the County government, the State Department for Housing and Urban Development and private sector developer Kings Pride Properties. The houses to be developed include 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartment units.
Upon completion which is scheduled to be within 18 months, the houses will range between Sh 1.5 million and Sh 4 million, while initial owners will not be allowed to sell their units before the lapse of 8 years to avoid price speculation.
Application for the houses are done through the www.bomayangu.go.ke portal. Kenyans are advised to begin making contributions through the platform and select their housing preference from the available or upcoming housing stock.
Housing crisis in Kenya
Nakuru is among 23 counties that have provided land for the affordable housing programme. It has been grappling with housing shortages for years. There is a shortfall of both residential and commercial units.
Kenya at large has only 25,000 housing mortgages catering for a population of over 40 million people, a situation which aggravated the housing crisis in the country. Realization of the provision of Affordable Housing is not only in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big 4 agenda but it is also part of the fulfillment of the Constitution Chapter 4, Article 43 which guarantees every Kenya the right to accessible and adequate housing and reasonable standards of sanitation.
