Courting disaster

Landlords who rent out unfinished buildings not only violate the Building Code but also expose residents to physical and health hazards, writes Allan Olingo

It is an all-familiar sight; residential houses with unsightly hulking steel skeleton and shutter bars protruding from their slab. The owners of these houses still harbour ambitions of adding more floors over the complete ones.

A casual walk through Nairobi’s Eastland estates especially Umoja and Kayole reveals what is fast becoming a residential hazard for many. The case is the same in Dagoretti and along Thika Road. Yet like the proverbial sheep being led to the slaughter the residents have chosen to suffer in silence. Those who dare raise an issue are asked to vacate the houses and thanks to housing shortage the buildings get another occupier within no time.

Yet what the developers are engaged in is in gross violation of building practices. According to the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) Chairman Steven Oundo, such projects may not only be structurally unsound, but they flout every single bylaw regarding the Building Code, safety and provision for green spaces. Apart from the high chances of collapse, the structural inconveniences that come with such constructions are of unimaginable levels.

Mary Gathoni, a mother of two lives in Umoja Innercore Estate. Above her ground floor house is an ongoing construction for two upper floors and this has proved to be a nuisance to her and her neighbours. Their pleas to the landlord have fallen on deaf ears.

She claims the cement dust, constant hammering, the electricity outages and water diversions to the construction works are just but a few of the inconveniences she faces daily.

"We are not only exposed to the dangers of fire and power failure but also the health hazard arising from the cement, the noise from the concrete mixers and also loss of property from some of the dishonest construction workers", she notes.

Certificate

Yet City Hall’s building department is supposed to issue an occupancy certificate, a document certifying a building’s compliance with the Building Code and other laws before anyone can move in. It is highly doubtful that such buildings have certificates of occupancy. These developments go on under the watch of city inspectors who could be using them as cash cows and, therefore, compromising safety standards.

According to Oundo a Certificate of Occupancy is a proof that legally the house or building is safe.

"Generally, such a certificate enables one to occupy the structure, as well as sign a contract to sell the space and close on a mortgage for the space," he notes.

A certificate of occupancy complements a building permit, a document that must be filed by the applicant with the local authority before construction to indicate that the proposed construction will adhere to ordinances and codes and laws.

Ignorance

Occupied unfinished buildings in Nairobi’s Umoja Estate.

Many residents, however, are not aware of the certificate leave alone its importance. Gathoni recalls the distress of looking for a house. No wonder she has no immediate plans of moving out of this incomplete apartment because her monthly rent is relatively low compared to the other apartments within the neighbourhood.

"Most professionals involved in such constructions are incompetent or they are compromised to approve poor workmanship resulting to a massive concrete jungle that’s crude to the eye and environment," notes Oundo.

Eliud Gaitho a developer notes that getting a City Council approval is expensive and time consuming forcing many developers cum landlord to resort to shortcuts to beat the system.

The right procedure involves approaching the City Development Department of the council to get the architectural plans approved. The fee for this process is about Sh65,000. The application must contain the architectural drawings and plans, land title and a copy of main architect’s license.

"The application is then forwarded to various departments including the Physical Planning, Road Department, Public Health, Fire Department, Water Authority and Electricity Authority," adds Gaitho.

Depending on the bulk of work, each department takes at least two weeks to clear the respective section of the plans and grants separate permits for the plumbing, sewerage and electrical activities. The application is then forwarded to the Technical Committee for approval.

But do developers follow the approved architectural designs?

"There are cases whereby such developers upon getting their building permits from the council disregard the architectural design and instead engage quack contractors in order to minimise on costs," laments Oundo.

However, all is not lost and the relevant authorities can put a stop to all these projects. Oundo adds that an all inclusive body that encompasses architects, engineers, town planners and representatives of investors should then be created to inspect all existing buildings and recommend alliterations to those that have flouted city bylaws to ensure adherence.

safety standards

"City Hall should then rid itself of all rogue inspectors whose main aim is visiting construction sites and soliciting bribes rather than promote safety standards," he adds.

Following the enactment of new Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act on February 27, 2009, developers now have to obtain approval of projects from National Environment Management Authority (Nema). Projects of all risk categories are subject to approval and environmental impact assessment. The regulation regarding environmental impact assessment approval for Kenya has been in place since 1999. However, it is just recently that Nema started enforcing the rules more vigorously.

According to Nema’s Compliance and Enforcement Director, Malwa Langwen, they conduct inspections during the construction and if new projects at the moment of inspection do not have an environmental impact assessment they may order the project closed and erected objects demolished.

"We only do approvals of the sites and ensure that the constructions will have minimal environmental effects such as reduced cement dust levels, noise levels, limit nocturnal constructions and movement of trucks to and from the sites, therefore we are absolved of any blame especially with regards to constructions to habited buildings," he notes.

Oundo insists developers should fully co-operate and avoid short-cuts with some city planning officials approving substandard building plans while some investors construct buildings without the requisite approvals.

servicing loans

A developer who spoke on condition of anonymity notes that it’s the financial institutions that make developers be in a hurry to start servicing their loans so as soon as they are done with the lower floors they put them up for occupancy as they continue to work on top floors.

"As a remedy, financiers should stop lending funds to unapproved projects and conduct regular inspection to those they fund to ensure that they are constructed as per the approved drawings," he offers.

"The current Building Code aimed at regulating and controlling standards in the building and construction sector is outdated, thereby frustrating the realisation of the dream of affordable housing provision in the country," notes John Rajwayi of Erdemann Properties.

"The current one which dates back to 1967 has lapses in legal framework and enforcement mechanisms resulting in the continued existence of sub-standard buildings which has even resulted to loss of lives," he adds.

Early this year Housing Minister Soita Shitanda directed all buildings sites adhere to the Building Code and contractor boards be displayed detailing the professional and regulatory credentials of the work being done, the contractor’s name and his sub contractors. Each board must carry the file number showing the building work registered with the local authority, which is the last word that ensures the code is followed.

"Developers should design and construct buildings in a professional manner using approved contractors with good credentials rather than hiring amateurs who compromise every bit of the building code," concludes Oundo.