In line with the 2013 law governing land use in Rwanda. under its Article 58 about Land subject to confiscation: “The land within urban areas where a detailed physical plan was approved by competent authorities and it is clear that it has spent three (3) consecutive years unexploited” may be confiscated.
Due to the lack of progress in regard to executing the development plans expected of them by the city. The City of Kigali has repossessed some 58 private properties, including plots of land and unfinished construction projects, citing delays in their development.
Once the properties are confiscated, will be sold to the competent developers and proceeds from the auction given to the owner of the property.
In an exclusive interview with The New Times, the mayor of Kigali, Pudence Rubingisa, said that they had engaged the Rwanda Land Use and Management Authority in carrying out the exercise.
Among the properties that have been confiscated is the Century Park Estate project in Nyarutarama, which includes a hotel, luxury villas and upscale apartments.
According to the city authorities, the developer acquired the first building permit in 2013, and renewed it in 2015 but until today, they have not accomplished what they had promised to implant on the land of nine hectares.
In addition to repossessing 58 properties and plots, the mayor said, the city has given notice to owners of some 153 properties to resume construction plans.
“The ones that we put on notice are those who still have valid construction permits or have a chance to request for renewal of these permits,” he added
According to Rubingisa, the city of Kigali handed over the confiscated properties to the relevant authorities such as the Ministry of the Environment, the land office and the Rwanda Development Board.
Among the remedies being considered is connecting owners with potential buyers who are ready to buy and immediately continue development.
In the event that a buyer is not obtained by such means, the other option is to auction them off and the proceeds are returned to the original owners.
The mayor also raised the likelihood that owners of these real estate, especially undeveloped land, are ``speculative '' by buying land with no real intention to develop it, but rather aim to resell it at a better price. after a while, because the land value normally increases over time.
What industry players are saying?
In an interview with the New Times, Robert Bafakulera, the president of the Private Sector Federation, who is also interested in real estate, spoke of the industry dilemmas that could lead to developers failing to carry out well projects as expected.
He said real estate was facing funding issues due to some issues in the market, which could have resulted in a lack of funds to complete projects on time.
“This might be attributed to banks that are reluctant to finance the developers so that they can develop their property,” he said.
Bafakulera said that in his personal opinion, city authorities should only apply the three-year settlement to areas that are in urgent need of development, but give more years to suburbs that may not have not an urgent need for development.
Gentil Kangaho, the chairman of the board of the Institution of Engineers Rwanda says the law must be respected, but the authorities should always carefully consider the reasons why the property developer did not complete the project within a given time.
“I would also recommend that the city sensitizes people about the condominium law whereby different people can come together and jointly develop a plot of land together. One can bring land and others put in money to develop it and after the land owner can possess some square metres of built area while the rest go to the other partners,” he said.
Read original article on The New Times
-----
For daily real estate updates!
