NHC sued for demanding millions from Mombasa tenants

Tenants of an estate in Mombasa have sued the National Housing Corporation.

They sought for an order on Thursday to have the housing agency surrender houses to them as mortgage, and wanted a declaration that its actions evicting or threatening to evict them from the houses which they pay rent, was contravention of the constitution.

According to the tenants of NHC Changamwe rental estate, they preferred to be given the houses on mortgage since they had been taking care of them ‘to relieve’ NHC obligations it did not seem to be able to keep.

OUTRAGEOUS ARREARS

The petitioners argued that the housing agency claimed arrears of up to Sh1 million, an amount they termed as outrageous and unreasonable.

“The respondents have increased rent of the premises without notice to the petitioners and backdated the difference of the increase as far as the year 2009,”said residents in their petition at the High Court.

NHC, they said, should be barred from interfering with their peaceful stay in the houses until the Ministry of Lands and Housing addressed itself to the validity and correct rent to be paid, and how they could settle the arrears if any. 

CRUEL AND DEGRADING

Consequently, the tenants claimed that NHC breached their constitutional rights by storming into several houses and throwing out their properties, describing the actions as cruel and degrading since no opportunity was given to them to mitigate their position before the eviction.

“The petitioners now live in fear since they do not know when the respondents might try to evict them again,” the petition read.

The tenants further claimed that the housing units were roofed with housing asbestos, which they claimed, was classified as a hazardous material.

The petitioners said the drainage was blocked with raw sewage flowing in the open posing a health risk to them adding that they were forced to use their own money to ‘fix’ some problems such as fitting new doors to the houses.

HABITABLE HOUSING

Further, they argued that it was NHC's duty to ensure that the housing it provided was fit for human habitation and had standards reasonable for occupation.

They also sought for a declaration that forcible, violent and brutal evictions from their houses without according their children alternative shelter and leaving them in the open exposed them to vagaries of nature and was a violation of rights and against the constitution.

Justice Eric Ogola directed NHC, which was represented by lawyer Augustine Wafula, to file its replying affidavit to the petition and that the status quo of the housing estate remained.

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The status quo included payment of rent as it was, and to be maintained until the petition was heard and determined, the court said.

Hearing has been set for June 29.