How State can make affordable houses less costly for the poor

Mukuru Met Site Social affordable housing project in Nairobi. [File, Standard]

The government has put on sale the completed 4,888 affordable housing units within 24 counties. In the next four years there are plans to build a further 730,062 units. This ushers in a new phase in the affordable housing lifecycle-the post-construction management. The day-to-day running cost of the developments is an issue that we cannot wish away. It is bound to impact affordability in the long-term. The money contributed towards defraying such costs is commonly known as service charge.

Similar developments within Nairobi have their service charge in the range of Sh4,000-Sh10,000 a month per unit, a tall order for the urban poor. Which then begs the question, who will foot this bill? Will the poorest unit owner-the social housing unit buyer whose income range is between 0 to Sh19,999-afford that level of service charge? How can the Affordable Housing Board reduce the service charge payable or in short, ensure affordability in the long run?