Only 300 Kenyans Qualify for Boma Yangu Low-Cost Homes

About 285,000 Kenyans hoping to acquire homes under the State-backed affordable housing scheme received a rude shock earlier this month after it emerged that only 300 people are eligible for allocation of low-cost dwellings.

Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga disclosed that only 300 Kenyans have paid up the required 12.5 per cent of the total value of the houses they hope to purchase – which means most hopeful buyers have not been remitting any monthly contributions.

About 16,000 people have been making contributions to the scheme – totalling Sh125 million, which amounts to an average of Sh7,800 per individual.

This disclosure came weeks after the State sent text messages to applicants asking them to update their income and tax details on the portal to facilitate the allocation of the houses.

“This is required for you to be eligible for allocation of housing. Login to bomayangu.go.ke to update your details,” the text message said.

The State Department of Housing assured that a lottery-based allocation of 228 houses that were recently completed in Nairobi’s Ngara estate would happen soon, after which the new homeowners would begin making monthly payments for their property.

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Each of the two-bedroom houses under phase one of the project will be sold at Sh3 million, which means a buyer must pay at least Sh375,000 to qualify for allocation.

“We’re currently trying to fine-tune and operationalise the process of how to hive out 228 sectional titles for apartment owners,” Mr Hinga said in an earlier interview, adding that the titles would enable mortgage takers to obtain funding from lenders.

The affordable housing scheme, which seeks to deliver 500,000 houses countrywide in five years, allows Kenyans to register for free on the Boma Yangu platform – giving personal details such as income, household particulars and preferred area of residence, which will help the government to identify the best locations to put up the houses.

After registration, an assessment is done to prove the details provided and upon completion, the prospective buyer will then be allocated a unique identification number which they will use to make contributions to the housing scheme.

Built by China State Construction and Engineering Corp., the Ngara housing project is a three-phase building venture that will deliver 1,370 homes at Sh5 billion.

Phase one of the project has been handed over to the government, while the second and third phases of the scheme will be completed in June and December, respectively.

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