The City of Kigali has repossessed some 58 private properties, including plots of land and unfinished construction projects, citing delays in their development.

The repossessed unfinished construction projects, authorities said, have not been making progress in regard to executing the development plans expected of them by the city.

The move is in line with the 2013 law governing land use in Rwanda.

Under its article 58, the law provides for confiscation of land within urban areas for which a detailed physical plan was approved by competent authorities and it is clear that it has spent three consecutive years unexploited.

Once confiscated, the property is sold to competent developers and proceeds from the auction given to the owner of the property.

City of Kigali Mayor Pudence Rubingisa speaks during a past news conference. Photo: Sam Ngendahimana.

Pudence Rubingisa, the City of Kigali Mayor, told The New Times in an exclusive interview that they have engaged Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority in executing the exercise.

Among the properties that have been confiscated include Century Park Estate project located in Nyarutarama, which consists a hotel, luxurious villas and high-end apartments.

According to city authorities, the developer acquired the first construction permit in 2013, and renewed it in 2015 but until today, they have not accomplished what they had promised to establish on the nine-hectare land.

In addition to repossessing 58 properties and plots, the mayor said, the city has put on notice owners of some 153 properties to resume their construction projects.

"The ones that we put on notice are those who still have valid construction permits or have a chance to request for renewal of these permits,” he added.

According to Rubingisa, the City of Kigali has handed the confiscated properties to relevant authorities like the Ministry of Environment, the land office and Rwanda Development Board.

Among the envisaged remedies include connecting the owners with prospective buyers that are ready to purchase and immediately carry on the development.

In case a buyer is not obtained through such means, the other option is to auction them and proceeds given to the original owners.

The mayor told The New Times that prior to taking these measures, the city engaged these owners with view to find out what is really happening, and some did not seem very ready to carry on with their projects.

"For instance, there are some that were given construction permits in 2011 or 2013 but when we look at their plots of land, nothing is happening in regard to development,” he said.

The mayor also hinted at the possibility that the owners of these pieces of property, especially undeveloped land, being ‘speculative’ whereby they buy land without real intentions of developing it, but rather target to resell it at a better price after some time, because land normally appreciates in value as time passes.

However, late last year, the city had vowed to confiscate plots of land in the Central Business District and those along strategic corridors that had been lying idle for more than three years despite several warnings to the owners.

Besides being aimed at promoting investments, the Government’s move to take over redundant pieces of property is also intended at maintaining security of neighbourhoods, because abandoned pieces of property like uncompleted buildings or bushy plots of land can be used as hideouts for people who want to do criminal activities.

What industry players say

In an interview with The New Times, Robert Bafakulera, the Chairperson of the Private Sector Federation, who is also into real estate, voiced the troubles of the industry which might be leading to failure by developers to complete the projects as envisaged.

He said real estate has been facing financing challenges because of low appetite on the market, which might have led to lack of funds to complete the projects on time.

"This might be attributed to banks that are reluctant to finance the developers so that they can develop their property,” he said.

Bafakulera said that in his personal view, the city authorities should apply the three-year regulation only in areas that urgently need development, but grant more years to suburbs that may not be in urgent need of development.

Gentil Kangaho, the President of the Governing Council of the Institution of Engineers Rwanda says the law should be respected, but the authorities should always take a good look at the reasons why the developer did not conclude the project in the stipulated time.

"I would also recommend that the city sensitizes people about the condominium law whereby different people can come together and jointly develop a plot of land together. One can bring land and others put in money to develop it and after the land owner can possess some square metres of built area while the rest go to the other partners,” he said.

"With the above approach the land owner’s burden of developing it alone is reduced.”