Point Properties Ltd – Articles of Interest

Chinese firm wins fight to construct high-rise Karen units

A Chinese company has won a court fight to develop a commercial engineering office complex in high-end Karen, Nairobi. Kibwezi MP Partrick Musimba wanted the Environment and Lands court to stop the China Railways No 10 Engineering Group Co Ltd from converting the property situated along Acacia Drive Karen from residential to commercial status. He said the offices were likely to disturb the peace of Karen residents, hurt property prices where an acre goes for Sh60 million and pose a security risk. But Justice Samuel Okong’o dismissed the application, saying it had no merit and that the orders sought by the lawmaker if granted would be in vain. The judge noted that the Chinese firm in its response had said that the construction works on the suit property had been completed. In an affidavit sworn by Liu De Yong and Victoria Morena, the Chinese firm indicated that the injunctive order sought by the MP to restrain construction on the suit property had been overtaken by events. “This averment was not controverted by the plaintiff. If the construction works have been completed, then there is nothing to stop through the injunction sought by the plaintiff,” said the judge. In his case,…

Property owners with unauthorised buildings in Nairobi will soon be required to regularise their developments or risk them being brought down. Unauthorised buildings are those that were constructed but do not have the necessary approvals under the National Physical Planning Act and other relevant Nairobi City County legislation. Lands and Urban Planning County executive Charles Kerich on Thursday said that City Hall was working on the Nairobi City County Regularisation Act, 2021 which will compel those with buildings to present their plans for review and determination on whether they are structurally and architecturally sound. He said a task force had already been gazetted to come up with the Act which will be tabled at the Assembly in a month’s time. “The review will ensure that those with unapproved buildings regularise the same and the owners will be told the amount they owe the county. If the plans are found to be okay, the county government will give one the approval they ought to have gotten before and thereafter pay for the requisite planning approval plan,” said Kerich. The approvals and occupation certificates, he said, will only be issued to owners upon inspection of the buildings. “Instead of first bringing down…

Title deeds to be issued afresh to curb fraud

Title deeds are set to be registered afresh as the State shifted the administration and management of land to new laws to boost efficiency in transactions and curb fraud. The Lands and Physical Planning ministry said the titles will now be handled under the Land Registration Act, 2012 —which comes with significant changes in the manner private land is managed. A pilot run of the migration is already underway in Nairobi with some 5,493 parcels already marked for conversion by the Registrar of Lands. “All transactions or dealings relating to parcels within the registration unit shall from April 1,2021 be carried out in the new registers,” the ministry said. Under the old legal regime, title deeds were issued under the Registered Land Act (RLA), the Registration of Titles Act (RTA), the Land Titles Act (LTA), and the Government Lands Act (GLA) that have now been repealed. “Each of these pieces of legislation created its own register, making land registration complex. The confusion occasioned by the different regimes has become a breeding ground for fraud, delays in service delivery, centralisation of land services and threats to the right to property,” Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney said. Titles issued under the RLA and…

Towns to Watch as Kenyans Move Away From Nairobi

The real estate market in Nairobi has witnessed an emerging trend over the last year in which more and more residents are moving away from the capital and into emerging satellite towns. These towns are in different counties, but which border the Kenyan capital, where a rapid improvement in infrastructure and affordable housing has resulted in a mass migration from Nairobi. Satellite cities are small or medium-sized cities near a large town, for instance; smaller towns near Nairobi, Mombasa, or Kisumu. Most of these satellite towns predate the metropolis’ suburban expansion and are partially independent of the bigger town both economically and socially. Motorists pictured on the Eastern bypass road. Some of the counties that have benefited a lot due to their proximity to the city include Kiambu, Machakos, and Kajiado, which all have satellite towns considered part of the Nairobi Metropolitan area. According to HassConsults 2020 Land Price Index report, these satellite towns controlled approximately 60% of property transactions in 2020. Kitengela 19.1% control, Ruiru 15.1%, Thika 9.4%, Ongata Rongai and Ngong both tied at 7.9% market share of the properties on sale. For 2021, the investment opportunity within the Nairobi Metropolitan Area land sector lies in satellite towns…

Developers raises Sh1.3 billion in Nairobi housing project sales

Clay City Developers Limited has sold about six percent of its 5,200 affordable houses located at Clay City on Thika Road in Nairobi, raising Sh1.3 billion from the sale. The Clay City project, which sits on 36 acres is being built through a joint venture between Housing Finance (HF) Development and Investment and Clay Works Limited. The Sh11 billion project is being funded by a mix of debt, equity from foreign funds and contractor financing. “There are about 333 two-bedroom units in the first phase of the project that have been sold. A unit is going at Sh3.9 million,” Clay City Developers chairman Matu Wamae told the Business Daily. The housing project consists 1,560 three-bedroom units selling at 4.6 million each and 2,080 two-bedroom houses selling at Sh3.9 million each. There are also 780 one-bedroom units each selling at Sh2.4 million and 780 studio units selling at Sh1.5 million. The project will be built in five phases. Work on the first phase of the project will run for 24 months, with the entire project set for completion after five years. “Clay City has an advantage because it is close to major learning institutions situated along Thika Road, which also offers…

Initially, property development was rudimentary and straightforward, just focusing on the basic amenities and enough space for parking or gardening. However, times have changed. We have a whole different generation that is tech-savvy, has unique tastes and know exactly what they want. They are considering these factors when hunting for property to purchase or rent: Within the city/convenience Gone are the days people used to invest in a property located in the outskirts of a city. Millennials prefer to live in hip neighbourhoods in the city; posh and upcoming developments that are near service providers and entertainment joints for convenience. Buying vs Renting Real estate experts will testify that numerous rational millennials are keen on building or buying their first homes instead of renting. They are specific about what they want and don’t want, with a huge bias on specific trends in their homes; luxury, efficiency, and technology. Technology In fact, technology is the key determining factor for a young person to or not to invest in a property. This generation spends most of their time online; shopping, chatting, researching, and working using home Wi-Fi. This is why internet connectivity in homes is a major selling point. Network reception for…

A Nairobi landlord has moved Kenyans on social media following his decision to reduce monthly rent for his tenants. In a letter dated October 17th, the property’s manager identified as Simon Ngugi asked occupants of Muhu Building on Naivasha Road in Dagoretti North, Nairobi to pay Sh2,000 less on rent beginning November 1st, 2019. Occupants have been paying Sh10,000 per month for each unit, meaning the same house will cost them Sh8,000 from this month. The letter also copied to the landlord John Roki, stated that the decision was made to retain current tenants and attract new ones due to “serious business fall.” “We have noted a serious business fall in recent months. We, therefore, extend our support to your business by reducing your rent,” Simon Ngugi noted. “Your new rent from November 1, 2019, is Ksh8, 000 down from Ksh10,000.” Speaking to K24 Digital, the building’s agent Paul Newton confirmed the authenticity of the letter. “Yes, the letter is genuine. We arrived at the decision after keenly scrutinizing how our tenants settled their rent arrears in the last few months. Honestly, we noticed they were struggling to raise the money, and, therefore, we had to reduce the monthly rental…