Uganda set for organised housing with new laws

The government is finalising the drafting of a law, which will regulate the booming real estate industry in Uganda. This is in response to the mushrooming number of estate developing companies in the country yet there are no specific laws to regulate their establishment and operations.
The Minister of State for Housing, Mr Michael Werikhe, said the law is being prepared and will soon be presented to cabinet for approval.
“We want to register all real estate developing companies in the country because most of them do not meet the required housing standards,” Mr Werikhe, said during the launch of a handbook on “National Slum Upgrading Strategy and Action Plan’ in Kampala recently.

Current regulation

Currently, real estates are regulated by the town and county planning boards under the statutory body of the physical planning unit, which is only responsible for approving construction plans of residential houses without going into the detailed site plans.
According to Mr Werikhe, the basic building guidelines require all estate housings to have access to roads, sanitary, piped water and electricity plus the estate developers should also be registered by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
“All residential structures will have to conform to a particular town’s development plan. Anyone wishing to build will have to provide a well detailed plan of his project for guidance,” he said.
Some of the developers that Business Power talked to have welcomed the move saying it would create more credibility in the young but fast growing industry.
Mr Anatoli Kamugisha, the managing director of Akright Projects Limited – a real estate developing firm, said this is a perfect decision and it has come at the right time when more people are joining the business.
“For example there was no house zoning – the separation of residential areas from industrial areas – in Uganda as it is in developed countries,” he said.
The law will benefit mostly people who are planning to buy houses since it seeks to separate industrial areas from residential areas and for better provision of infrastructure like roads.

Old laws
Mr Joseph Kitamirikre, the chief executive officer of National Housing and Construction Company Limited, was optimistic that any laws that will help to improve the business environment are welcome since the existing laws are 40 to 60 years old.
“Though we had the existing laws, they need better implementation and enforcement,” Mr Kitamirike said.
Some of the real estate developers include: Akright Projects Ltd, Riverside Acres Ltd, Jomayi Property Consultants, National Housing Construction Company Limited, Lugeye Property Consultants, Nationwide Properties Kensington Real Estate Developers among others.
Though there has been no law regulating the industry, real estate developers have formed associations as a means of providing better services like the Uganda Property Developers Association and Real Estate Agents Association, which register all individuals and companies involved in the real estate business.

Mr Joseph Magandazi, the managing director of Jomayi Property Consultants said the move will guarantee quality to the industry and sort out people who start business without clear intentions.