Somewhere in Mlolongo on the outskirts of Nairobi, a major apartment block development is fast coming up only a stone-throw away from a recently completed bungalow.
With hundreds of units envisaged, some of which have been sold on-plan, the housing development promises to be a major landmark in the area when completed.
However, its completion might not be good news for the bungalow owner and owners of other stand-alone houses in the area. Apart from literally dwarfing the maisonettes, it will also change the aesthetics of the locality.
In addition, the area will definitely be more congested because of the many families that will occupy the units. This case in Mlolongo mirrors a challenge that has plagued Nairobi and other towns for many years and is now catching up with those trying to escape congestion and pollution in the city for the suburbs. It is called mixed or haphazard developments.
Just like in Mlolongo, this is becoming a trend in some of the new housing estates rapidly emerging on the outskirts of Nairobi as more and more people move from the already congested inner city to build homes in the suburbs or beyond.
Although other factors such as security, accessibility, availability of utilities, such as water and waste management, are important when choosing where to build or to buy your dream home, the kind of planning in an area cannot be traded for anything else. And the value of your property depends a lot on it.
“With the increase in the popularity of home ownership, Nairobi’s outskirts are ever expanding. This has brought with it the culture of mixed developments: you buy an eighth of acre plot, put up your three or four bedroom villa or town house; a neighbour comes and puts up a block of flats which greatly diminishes the value and beauty of your property,” says Wilberforce Oundo, a director at Roack Consult, a real estate firm in Nairobi.
Suburbs are seeing rapid growth as home ownership culture gains popularity among Kenyans. People are attracted to these areas by less congestion and less pollution common in inner cities and affordable land prices, lifestyle and the sheer country feel that comes with living in a less congested location.
The trend of mixed development is becoming common in the Mlolongo corridor (which is increasingly becoming very prime for residential development, especially low- and middle-income), Ongata Rongai, Kiserian, Ngong Road, Kiambu Road, Ruaka and Thika Road.
Mr Oundo says the problem has been caused by planning failures on the part of respective local authorities. In Mlolongo, for instance, there isn’t a master plan to decide where flats are going to sit or where there should be villas.
“That basically indicates there was no proper planning on what is going to be developed in that neighbourhood,” he says. When approvals are given, he explains, the authorities should ordinarily look at the general neighbourhood trend.
“Granted, authorities may look at individual developments on a case-by-case basis to confirm issues like safety, waste disposal, building materials, fire protection, and so on. But they usually do not look at a wide area plan to see the general development trend in a given neighbourhood,” he notes.
The kind of neighbourhood you build your dream home in is paramount as it plays a major role in determining the value of your property.
“In real estate, location is everything; the value of a property is literally determined by location. Location accounts for 85 per cent of the value of the property,” Mr Oundo says.
So, how then does one choose where to develop? “Choose a locality where there is already an established trend either by default or by planning. If you pick a location like Karen, for instance, you will realise there seems to be a general trend of maisonettes, bungalows, and villas.
Flats are not allowed; if you try to put up flats in Karen, neighbours will definitely go to court, even if you got approval from the City Council of Nairobi,” Mr Oundo advises.
Stephen Mutoro, chief executive of the Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (Kara), says many potential homeowners who are running away from the inner city to put up houses in the suburbs are oblivious of haphazardness of developments in those suburbs and the impact that may have on the value of their property.
“There is a serious problem of lack planning in those suburbs. They lack harmony in terms of building profiles. In some of those estates, you find a high-rise just next to a stand-alone building.
“That lack of uniformity in housing developments in a particular location will definitely diminish the value of your property,” Mr Mutoro says, warning that it may just be a matter of time before the same problem driving before from the inner cities catch up with them in the neighbourhoods if lack of planning persists.
He advises that those who want to buy or build their own houses should ensure the location is well planned and can therefore enhance the value and aesthetics of their property.
He says: “The question you need to ask yourself is, ‘How will this location affect the value of my property should I want to sell it?’” According to Mr Oundo, the problem with many first-time homeowners is that they rarely consider their homes as investments, which they can sell later.
“Look at it this way: You are an investor who would one day wish to sell. You must therefore ensure you maintain the value of your property so that you can gain from the capital appreciation,” he says
He says too many aspiring homeowners are in too much hurry to do due diligence and end up “picking whatever comes their way”. Others are also attracted by the bargains offered by shrewd marketers. But the single most important failure by those looking for property to buy, he says, is their “know-it-all” attitude that disregards professional advice.
Although Mlolongo has been cited as one of the latest culprits of haphazard developments, experts are warning that new locations like Kiambu Road, Thika Road and Ruaka may soon follow suit unless the local authorities plan the areas –and enforce the plans.
Over the years, neighbourhood associations, especially those found in Nairobi, have also tried to regulate the kind of developments in certain residential areas. This has enabled such areas to achieve uniformity in development. There are neighbourhood associations that dictate the “class” of developments or buildings acceptable in particular residential areas.
Strong neighbourhood associations have tended to demanded that before any developer puts up any construction project, he or she must meet the building standards in that particular locality. This, according to Mr Mutoro, ensures there is harmony in profile of developments as well as order – and ultimately promotes good neighbourliness.
He reckons that the problem of haphazard developments in Kenya’s urban centres could be alleviated under the counties system adopted enshrined in the new Constitution.
“Different counties will compete in terms of development; every county will ensure towns in its jurisdiction are in good order so as to attract more investments,” Mr Mutoro says.
Source: Daily Nation
This is a typical ‘Riverside Drive syndrome’ case, where TAJ and Daughton apartments were built overnight and canopied the Swiss cottages and no amount of litigations provided reprieve. Guess it is time that we get someone to enforce Zoning rules and a new breed of planners that can manage housing mobility issues in tandem with the city growth
I think the law isn’t followed on this matter, our town planning dept slept until it was too late. Rongai is a mess, filthy and has no access roads, tiny alleys only. To me apart from haphazard building the access road issue is even much more terrifying!
“a neighbour comes and puts up a block of flats which greatly diminishes the value and beauty of your property” This one shocked me I did not know that could happen.
I agree with you that strong neighbourhood associations are needed to curtail this haphazard construction. Case in point the Karengata Association of Karen, Nairobi which has so far managed to enforce these rules.
Spatial planning is the only known strategy which the public sector would use to influence the distribution of people and human activities in spaces and areas. This would be the foundation and cornerstone for:
.land use planning
.urban development planning
.regional planning
.transport infrastructure planning
THESE WILL GUIDE AND HELP CONTROL haphazard development
Problem will always lie with the county planning department and the absence of a watch dog to hold culpable the responsible county officers and developer jointly should they attempt to flout the regulations before the buildings go up. As long as there is no punishment, there will be no fear and impunity will continue to reign.