Hard Times for City Elders as Mallets Fall on Bungalows

Bungalows are generally marketed to individuals approaching retirement, and those wanting to live without the trouble of climbing stairs.

They also afford easy access for persons on wheelchairs, individuals with walking difficulties, as well as people unable to walk upstairs due to health conditions.

Despite these important aspects, Nairobi bungalows are now facing annihilation. Thanks to the high costs of land and the rising demand for affordable housing, the city has in recent times relaxed its rezoning policy to allow the construction of high rises in up-market estates.

As a result, investors are increasingly buying old bungalows across the city – and knocking them down to pave the way for the construction of apartments.

Among the most affected estates are Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Woodley, Spring Valley, and Riverside Drive. Also affected are bungalows in estates such as South B, Kasarani, and Kahawa West, where empty plots are hard to come by.

The Nairobi County government is also planning to thrash its old bungalows in Uhuru, Jeevanjee, Old Ngara, Pangani and Ngong Road estates and replace them with apartments in a bid to provide cheaper houses to the city residents.

“High and mid-rises will be constructed in place of the decayed bungalows existing in the old estates,” City Hall said in February.

New way of life

The destruction of bungalows, many occupied by elderly Nairobians, forces senior citizens to seek ground-floor apartments, challenging their adjustment to a new way of life.

RELATED: Prices of Old Bungalows in Nairobi Highly Exaggerated

But even as the changes to the Nairobi rezoning ordinance take their toll on the elderly, industry players reckon that this is the only way to raise the supply of affordable housing in the city.

“Bungalows do not offer the most valuable use of a plot,” says Mungai Kimani of Kasarani. “You get far more value from a four or five-storey building than you could get from a bungalow – no matter how big.”

A few years ago, City Hall announced changes to the Nairobi rezoning policy, citing rising land prices as the primary reason for reviewing land use laws to unlock its full potential and accessibility.

As it is now, affected elders will have to choose between living in apartments or shifting to nearby towns where bungalows are still coming up.

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