The Federal Government says it will start charging owners of completed unoccupied houses triple ground rents instead of the single rate normally charged from three months after completion.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed ?angiwa, said this in an interview with newsmen during site visits of housing projects constructed by the Government and its agencies yesterday, in Abuja.
The Suleja (Dikko) Prototype, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Cooperative, Gwagwalada National Housing Programme and Guzape Federal Housing Authority (FHA) are also under the PPP arrangement.
?angiwa affirmed that the issue of completed unoccupied properties was prevalent in the FCT and some States while many citizens needed accommodation”.
“What is important now is that we want to take stock of all those houses, then we will interface with the owners and find out what they want. If they want to keep the houses unoccupied, the government will start charging them triple ground rent instead of a single ground rent that we normally charge”, he added.
The Minister further said the development would force owners to rent or sell the houses. He emphasised that the country could not have housing deficits when buildings were unoccupied.
On supervising projects across the country, the minister said all State Controllers would be empowered and given the proper tools and equipment to carry out their functions effectively.
The Apo-Guzape housing project started in 2011 on 100 hectres of land with three project models: direct construction financed by FHA and a public-private partnership, with 764 houses completed.
Others are the prototype housing scheme, Suleja, comprising 232 units, with 185 completed; and the National Housing Project, Gwagwalada, 216 units; and the Federal Integrated Housing Scheme in Gwagwalada, 100 housing units.
