NHC seizes seven estates over loan

A row has erupted between the National Housing Corporation and the local authority over the control of seven council housing estates in Mombasa.

Last week, the tenants received letters dated July 29 from the corporation asking them to start paying rent to it instead of the council.

The estates affected are Khadija (Kisauni), Jomo Kenyatta Makande (Island), Buxton (Island), Tom Mboya (Island), Mvita (Island) and Changamwe New and Old.

The local authority, however, told the tenants to ignore the letter and continue paying rent to Town Hall. In his letter addressed to tenants in the seven estates, NHC’s chief estates officer John Agutu directed them to start paying rent to the corporation with effect from this month.

“This is to inform tenants in the above listed estates that with effect from August 1, 2011, the management of the said estates reverts to National Housing Corporation,” the letter reads.

“Tenants are therefore advised to strictly and promptly pay rents to the Corporation by depositing monies into their respective accounts of the Cooperative Bank. The accounts are obtainable from the NHC office at Changamwe,” says the letter.

Refunded their deposits

According to Mr Agutu, NHC took the step following the “council’s failure to disclose material facts as regards the encumbrances on the block title of Jomo Kenyatta Makande estate that was transferred to NHC in a full debt settlement”.

The letter further says the tenants who had expressed interest to purchase the apartments at Makande estate will subsequently be refunded their deposits in due course.

But in a quick rejoinder, town clerk Tubmun Otieno dismissed the NHC directive as “inconsequential” and told tenants of six of the seven estates to ignore the letters.

“If they (NHC) think we have breached the contract, they should follow the laid-down procedures rather than write letters to tenants under our management,” he said.

He said that there was a contract between the council and NHC over the housing estates and questioned why the corporation was writing letters unilaterally to tenants.

“We signed a contract with NHC where the council agreed to give back to them Jomo Kenyatta Makande estate and retained the remaining six estates, which have been paying rental charges to us.”

The clerk told NHC to concentrate on Jomo Kenyatta Makande Estate and warned it of court action if the corporation interfered with the other six estates under the council’s management.

“These people (NHC) came to my office on Friday and I ordered them out of Town Hall,” he said and warned them of arrest if they returned.

He disclosed that he had written to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate how plots within the Makande estate were sold to individuals.

The council boss directed tenants of Khadija, Buxton, Tom Mboya, Likoni, Mvita and Changamwe estates to continue paying their rent to the council and not NHC.

Sources privy to the issue from the corporation dismissed the council claims that they were to blame for the sale of 19 plots within Makande estate.

“We came to know of this when we started putting up a perimeter wall round the estate, only to be slapped with court orders early this year,” the sources said.

But tenants who talked to the Nation expressed concern over the new turn of events.

A Mvita Estate tenant, Mr Abdulrahman Abdullah, said he feared losing his money after paying the municipal council rental charges up to September.

“This letter tells me to pay NHC from this month (August) yet I have already paid this month (August) and September in advance to the council,” he said.

He said that ownership wrangles between the council and NHC were causing confusion among tenants over where to pay rent.

The tenant called on Housing minister Soita Shitanda to help resolve the issue.