PROPERTY BRIEFS: NHC to raise sh5bn by June

The national housing Corporation (NHC) plans to raise Sh5 billion by June this year as it looks to build 6,000 housing units in the next few years. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • NHC initially planned to issue the bond in the second half of 2015, but the market turned sour due to volatility in interest rates.

NHC TO RAISE SH5BN BY JUNE

The National Housing Corporation (NHC) plans to raise Sh5 billion by June this year as it looks to build 6,000 housing units in the next few years.

The money will be raised through a corporate bond; the State-owned agency has already picked transaction advisors for the issue.

NHC also plans to raise more funds by packaging some of its properties under an income-real estate investment trust (I-Reits) and similar securities.

NHC initially planned to issue the bond in the second half of 2015, but the market turned sour due to volatility in interest rates.

It is expected that the proceeds from the bonds will be used to finance the building of maisonettes in Stony Athi in Mavoko, Machakos County, where the parastatal owns 150 acres, as well as flats in Mombasa and Kisumu.

 

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KRA SETS MARCH TAX DEADLINE FOR SLIPPERY LANDLORDS

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has set a March tax compliance deadline for more than 100,000 landlords as the agency prepares to actively pursue property owners avoiding to pay tax on rental income.

KRA said that all the landlords will have received a notice to comply by next month, after which it will assess the taxes of those who fail to respond and issue them with estimates as a first step in recovery of the amounts owed.

The new tax, which became effective January 1, is a simplified form of the earlier version and is meant to ease the taxman’s work in assessment and going after defaulters.

Landlords are supposed to pay 10 per cent of their gross rental income before the 20th of the following month.

KRA is targeting residential and commercial areas with high concentrations of buildings. The taxman expects to have surveyed the entire Nairobi county by June, and says it has already covered part of the  CBD, Imara Daima, Lang’ata, Zimmerman,

Jacaranda Gardens, Dagoretti, Ngong Road and Doonholm.

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WAITIKI LAND SETTLERS WHO WISH TO SELL LIKELY TO MAKE A KILLING

An acre of land around the Waitiki Farm is going for Sh40 million, with the ongoing issuance of titles handing those who might wish to sell an opportunity to cash in handsomely.

Lands Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi on Friday said that this value is above the Sh182,000 that the settlers have to pay for the plots whose titles they are receiving.

The 780-acre farm was recently bought by the government and distributed to thousands of settlers who invaded it decades ago. Of the total 7,807 lease titles, 5,007 have already been processed and are being issued out.

Prof Kaimenyi said that the plot owners have to pay the Sh182,000, which is to cover the amount the government used to buy the land and the processing fee.

 

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KINGS PRIDE TO BUILD SH500M MIXED-USE BLOCK IN WESTLANDS

Kings pride has begun work on a 10-storey building  in Westlands, Nairobi, that will consist of a high-end hotel and apartments.

The real estate developer expects the project, Golden Palms, to be completed in two years.

The apartments include 38 units of two-bedrooms each targeting upper middle-class earners.

The project is expected to cost Sh500 million and will be funded through internal earnings and borrowing from local banks.

Kings Pride is also developing Runda Royales, Windsor Gardens and Runda Park on Kiambu Road with a total 373 housing units.