Wealthy residents at Migaa Golf Estate, Kiambu have rejected cheap houses that are to be constructed in the neighbourhood, claiming that the project is against the residential vision.
In a statement released by Migaa Residents Association (MRA), the homeowners lamented that they were never consulted by the two firms - Home Afrika and Sycamore Pine - seeking to build near 2,000 residential units and also sell constructed villas.
They added that they were notified of the projects while they were in later stages and after the private entities had signed deals with the government to construct the affordable houses.
"The proposed high-rise, high-density and low-cost apartments going by the name Samara Estate will have close to 2,000 units and more than 10,000 residents in 28 blocks of up to 10 floors each.
"This goes against the vision for the estate and the concept that the over 300 current residents and landowners bought into," MRA stated further accusing Kiambu County Government and officials from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) of colluding with the private entities.
The cheap houses targeted at middle-class Kenyans are set to comprise a kindergarten, three-bedroom, two-bedroom houses and one commercial block.
Developers, however, argued that the affordable houses would improve the neighbourhood and offer the homeowners workers and support staff.
A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) 2020 detailed that Nairobi landlords were shifting focus to constructing affordable and smaller houses as the demand for houses increases, land space diminishes and the cost of living rises.
The developers target middle-class and low-income earners who are flooding the city to make ends meet and also raising the population of the county.
Landlords were reported to be constructing single-rooms, bedsitters and one-bedroomed houses that are appealing to the masses. These affordable houses enable tenants to pay rent and also pay for commodities and satisfy their basic needs.
"The demand for affordable housing is big. The future I see for the medium term is that affordable housing will be the engine that will power the real estate sector, not the upper end,” Housing Finance Chief Executive Robert Kibaara stated in January 2021.
