CH&PA says: Use, weed unoccupied lands

Jan 11, 2018 News

The Central Housing and Planning Authority, (CH&PA) is again appealing to owners of unoccupied house lots in housing schemes under its management, to commence building or for those unable to do so to clear your lots and surrounding drains of overgrowth.

The agency has received numerous complaints from residents living in those communities about security threats and health hazards they face on a daily basis.

It is a known fact that unoccupied house lots with large overgrowth are safe havens for criminals. They are also habitats for reptiles and breeding grounds for mosquitoes which have the potential to spread diseases such as dengue fever.

On Monday, the agency received a complaint of an elderly man in Region Ten, being bitten by a poisonous snake, which he said emerged from the unoccupied lot next to his property.

Referencing Agreements of Sale, Transports, and Certificates of Title, the CH&PA said that landowners are responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of all drains, reserves, and parapets adjoining the said lot and shall keep all parapets and reserves unencumbered.

Once you are allocated a plot of land by the agency, it is expected that you will commence construction at the stipulated time as indicated in your Agreement of Sale, Transport or Certificate of Title.

Should you be unable to do so, it is only reasonable for you to make arrangements to maintain the land at an acceptable standard until you are ready to commence construction.

It is unreasonable to expect residents to go into their pockets and expend monies to maintain lands that they do not own.

During a recent Press Conference, Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, detailed the plight facing the CH&PA.

He noted that the CH&PA has found that approximately 80 percent of the land already distributed remains unoccupied.

Bulkan explained that based on their evaluation of house lot allocations dating back to 2000, the Housing Department has taken steps to offer applicants house lots with already constructed unit, hence disposing of the problem, lack of funds to construct which may be the problem with many potential homeowners.

According to statistics provided by the Minister, between 2000 and 2015, approximately 66,000 house lots were allocated. Of these, some 28,000 or 40 percent remain unoccupied.

During 2011 and 2015, three dozen new schemes were developed. These made available 20,000 house lots of which over 80 percent remain unoccupied.

Taking these figures into consideration, Bulkan said that the Department has taken steps to provide housing to citizens opposed to just house lots.

This move, the Minister believes, will allow for immediate occupancy of the plots allocated. Minister Bulkan also reassured that Government is committed to ensuring infrastructural developments of the Housing Development Projects.

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