Squatting destroys property values

May 19, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Many years ago when it dawned upon the residents of the new Eccles Housing Scheme that a dumpsite for the disposal of refuse would be located behind their posh residential area, a strong protest was launched.
The protests did not get far because an agreement had already been inked between the government and the Inter-American Development Bank for the funding of this dumpsite.
But the protests did show that the newly emerging propertied class in that area was prepared to take action to defend what they saw as something unhealthy and unwanted within their community.
Just last year, some residents of a residential area in the city filed legal action in order to prevent the authorities from granting permission for the establishment of a business premises within their community.
Their main peeve was that the operation of this business would disturb the peace and tranquility of the area.
A few months ago, a city club was forced to consult with a resident before it went ahead and granted the final okay for the hosting of a show, which involved loud music.
And just recently we have seen a series of actions protesting noise nuisance emanating from shows.
All of these are growing evidence that citizens are taking steps to ensure that they are not disturbed by noise nuisances or by the ever-increasing practice of businesses being opened in residential areas.
One of the areas in which residents have however been most ineffective has been in the prevention of squatting. It is not unusual to find in some areas, persons squatting on municipal or government reserves and despite the fact that this is an illegal act, citizens have been very reluctant to force the authorities to take action against these squatters.
One reason could be that most of these squatters may have originated from within the said area and thus may be known to the residents who might not wish to be seen as going against someone from their own community.
What these residents do not realise is that the most effective way to reduce property values within an area is to encourage squatting.
Squatting breeds a great deal of problems and encourages the stealing of water and electricity, but its most negative consequence is its effects of property values within a community.
Property values in any community should ideally rise with time. As home improvements take place within a community, as infrastructure is put in place, the property values invariably rise thus increasing the asset value of homeowners.
However, all it takes for those property values to plunge is for squatters to invade that community. Immediately, the property values would plunge, in some cases by more than fifty percent.
So you can very well have a situation where someone spends ten million dollars to construct a home, only to find later that instead of that same property fetching fifteen million dollars on the property markets, it would attract no more than five million dollars.
A few days ago, the Ministry of Housing and Water removed a number of markers placed by squatters on a large piece of state land behind the Caricom Secretariat.
Imagine the embarrassment that would have been caused to the image of Guyana had a squatter settlement developed behind the regional headquarters of the Caribbean Community.
Imagine the impact also on those luxurious homes in the front lands of Turkeyen.
Many years ago, two areas suffered because of the uncontrolled squatting that took place in an adjoining area. In the eighties, Prashad Nagar and Lamaha Gardens emerged as two of the more high valued residential areas.
However, no sooner were the residents of these two areas basking in their valuable real estate, than an influx of squatters descended on the adjoining state lands in Sophia, creating one of the largest squatting areas in the country.
Property values in Lamaha Gardens and Prashad Nagar plummeted and homeowners saw the values of their properties fall appreciably to the point where even if they wanted to sell they would have had to do so at a huge loss.
The government’s regularizing the Sophia settlement has allowed the property values in Prashad Nagar and Lamaha Garden to be restored, some to an elevated level but those areas will not likely be considered as having some of the prime real estate in the country. Such honours will go to other areas, including Pradoville.
Ironically the government has also since 1992 had a massive housing drive and yet squatting has increased. The reason why this has happened is because those who squat have been allowed to get away with their unlawful actions, actions that have caused legitimate homeowners to suffer.
And yet the government perpetuates this injustice by continuing to promise to regularize emerging squatter settlements.

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