Cheap, decent housing? Not in Nairobi

After living in a crammed apartment in Roysambu on the outskirts of Nairobi for two years, Ms Esther Moraa, who was planning to settle down and start a family with her fiancé, decided it was time to look for a house where they could raise children.

At the time, Ms  Moraa  was living in a one-bedroom rental apartment with a living room, a balcony where she  hung her  laundry, a bedroom that could not accommodate a bed that was bigger than a 4x6, a kitchen that could accommodate only a small table, a refrigerator and two 50- litre water storage containers.

Fortunately, Ms Moraa got a promotion at work, so with their joint incomes, they could afford a bigger apartment. They had in mind an apartment that could accommodate a sofa set, an entertainment unit, a cooker in the kitchen, a bigger bed and still leave enough leg room in these spaces. But finding the right apartment turned out to be more difficult than they expected.

DISSAPOINTING RESULTS

“Our two-month search has really been disappointing since none of the units we have visited within our budget in the areas we had in mind like Roysambu, Kasarani and Ruaraka on Thika Road, and further away in Utawala, Imara Daima, Langata, South B and  South C has not yielded what we expected,” she lamented.  “In many of the flats, the living room was not too small but the other rooms were. Where we found the living room spacious, it was at the expense of the kitchen and/or the bedrooms. Many of the houses also had shared bathrooms and toilets, which were also too small.”

Ms Moraa’s problem is not unique. In fact, many people who are looking for decent but  affordable accommodation are unlikely to find any easily. This is because most landlords in the areas where accommodation is affordable are obsessed with maximising on space, so the apartments they build tend to be really small, and with shared bathrooms and toilets.

Although he knows the dangers of living in such an environment, Simon Okoth has no choice because he cannot afford anything better.

“For those living in low-income estates like us, the clutter of high-rise buildings presents not just crammed rooms, but also a health hazard because many are damp and dark, with poor quality indoor air,” he says . “It is common here to find lights on during the day because the building is dark right from the entrance, along the staircase and walkways, and into the house. Each floor of the six-storey building has six houses - three  to the left and three to the right. The staircase is so narrow that when people are moving in or out of an apartment,  some of their big furniture has to be brought in or taken out through the balcony.”

This building trend is one architect Francis Gichuhi can’t understand.

“It doesn’t make economic sense to construct small and many but uninhabitable units in order to maximise on returns,” he says. “In any case, these are the buildings that tenants keep moving out of, mostly because of illnesses occasioned by poor ventilation and moist conditions, especially in children.”

He notes that the cost of lighting shared spaces such as corridors and staircases as well as the houses during the day becomes an added expense for both  the landlord and tenants. This contributes to unexpected costs that end up reducing the landlord’s expected rental income. Such poor conditions also result in tenants asking for a reduction in rent, or the landlord opting to reduce the rent to attract new tenants as the old ones keep moving out.

DESIGNED WITH RIGHT CLIENTELE IN MIND

There are laws that govern the minimum dimensions for habitable rooms in residential buildings, classrooms, warehouses, etc., under the Building Code and subsequent by-laws passed by county  assemblies through members of county assemblies (MCAs). However, some developers circumvent the county planning department vetting in a bid to “use space by building more units”, says Mr Gichuhi.

He believes developers should ensure that their buildings are designed with the right clientele in mind, be they  low-, middle- or high income.

“It is possible to put up buildings that are suitable for human habitation and still get a good return on investment.” Mr Gichuhi asserts.