Condo owners, property developers face off

They also accused local regulatory bodies of conniving with the developers. Most of these condominium properties are located in the popular residential suburbs of Naalya, Najeera and Kira.

Counter accusations

In their defence, the developers counter accused condo owners of not taking good care of their homes. Engineers accused developers of not employing actual registered engineers for their construction works, adding that the immigration office might be giving fraudulent work permits to foreign nonprofessionals. Almost all parties accused government regulatory bodies of not doing their work.

Witch-hunt?

All the three companies, as it turned out, were all ran by foreigners of Indian descent. One developer accused the IGG of being misled to fight wars against foreign investors.

“We feel very offended that we have been singled out of all the developers in the vicinity of Najjera, Kira, Namugongo, Naalya, Kiwatule. Why just the three of us?” remarked a representative from Fakhrudin Properties. 

 “Our clients are sophisticated; they are lawyers, engineers who visit the sites every month to assess the homes. Why do they not raise these issues if they do not like what they are seeing? If you do not like what you are seeing, stop paying and get all your money back. The only reason these people continue paying is because they are happy with the site visit,” the representative said. 

Condo owners’ complaints

The condo owners’ complaints ranged from damaged sewerage systems, collapsing roofs, missing amenities that were part of the deal during initial stages and insolence of the property managers whenever they table complaints. Some homeowners expressed bitterness at Housing Finance Bank for approving mortgages that have turned out to be very unsatisfactory.

Diaspora lawyer

Deo Kalikumutima, is a lawyer representing condo owners living in the diaspora. Kalikumutima says he has more than 100 petitions from unhappy clients.

 “Yes there is need for sensitisation. We advise clients in the diaspora to do the necessary due diligence before buying these properties. Check the structural integrity, engage architects, engage engineers, do your part. But the problem is that it is not enough for them to do due diligence. In any case they do not have the time to do this. Government must protect these people,” he said.

Paul Waisswa – Pisces (Universal) Naalya

Paul Waisswa is one of the condominium owners at Pisces Apartments, Naalya, built by Universal Multipurpose Enterprises Limited.

“At handover, they promised to give us a gym and a swimming pool. But when people started occupying part of the property, they abandoned the process and they even started taking away some of the equipment they had brought in for the works. We invited them, we did an inspection and they agreed to deliver, but they have since disappeared. Any attempt to get them is met with so much insolence. The perimeter walls are giving way, the compound parking is horrible,” he revealed.

John Paul Okwir – Bright Star Apartments, Naalya

John Paul Okwir owns a condominium at Bright Star Apartments, which were developed by Universal Multi-purpose Enterprises.

On behalf of the rest of the occupants, Okwir revealed that their roofs keep collapsing and they are forced to have them repaired themselves.

“Three roofs have collapsed and we have just repaired the entire roof for the 78 units, all the three blocks. We have about 300 residents living in these apartments. Just to give you the gravity of this issue, we have a swimming pool whose water has been seeping into one of the apartments. This means the integrity of the entire block is compromised. We have spoken to the developers and all they tell us is that the period in which they could make any repairs has elapsed,” he said.

Okwir Vs bank

Okwir is one of the condo owners who are angry at some banks such as Housing Finance Bank.

“I found the advert in the bank. This gave me confidence that due diligence had been done. I was coming from a place of complete trust to get this particulate mortgage. So I am curious what they have done after hearing all these grievances because they are still partnering with these developers,” Okwir said.

The bank representative instead blamed false advertising. 

“When we sell these mortgages, the houses look great and we follow the permits that have been issued by authorities,” the bank representative said.

Jasmine Courts (Fakhrudin)

“When we moved into the condominiums, we immediately found issues with the property. But when we raised them, we were told, we got an occupancy permit, meaning we should blame those that issued the occupancy permit. We want the regulatory authorities to be more vigilant, because it seems, once the occupancy permit has been issued, the developers will ride on that and you cannot say much,” a home owner said.

Comfort Homes

Harold Turigye, the company secretary for Comfort Homes, revealed the company has seven complete projects within Kampala housing more than 500 people. He said he was aware that occupants from one of their properties called Casa Marcella have complained of poor ventilation.

“In dealing with these complaints, we need to separate issues. What should the developer be blamed for? What should government agencies be blamed for? When should poor maintenance and usage be blamed?” How were we approved for occupancy if this is the case? You have approved these buildings level by level from foundation to the top, giving permits. When it was done, you gave an occupancy permit. Now three years down the road, you are saying the design you approved has an issue. What is the developer supposed to do?” he wondered. 

Fakhrudin Properties

A Fakhkrudin Properties representative blamed utility companies for some of the challenges the condominium owners were complaining about.

“There is no support from the utility companies. You cannot blame us for low voltage. You cannot blame us for poor drainage. You cannot blame us for poor water supply. These services are provided by third party venders. Umeme Limited is supposed to give power. National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) is supposed to give water. This is a sign of development. Many times when you approach NWSC, they advise you to enhance the whole pipeline. How do I benefit if the pipeline I paid for is under the control of NWSC?” he challenged.

Authorities

Benon Iga, the town clerk for Kira Municipality, on behalf of local government, blamed the mess in the condominium industry on inexperience.

“Condos are new in Uganda. We are learning on the job. We have received complaints from these members and we extend our apologies to those facing challenges,” he said.

Iga said the biggest number of complaints they receive have to do with finishing works and maintenance. 

Approving plans

Iga says before approving plans, they look at the building permit, the architectural drawings ensuring that they are done by professionals, structural drawings signed by a registered engineer, the electrical and mechanical drawings signed by registered engineers.

Occupancy permits?

“There is a process for signing off a property for occupancy. Here are the things we look at: Is the building built according to the drawings? Was the developer supervised by a supervising engineer? We also look at the electrical wiring approved by Umeme and the fire report by police. After all this, we approve for occupancy. The problem is not with us,” he said. 

Minimum specifications

The town clerk urged government to create a body to regulate minimum specification for finishing works.

“It seems the developers only focus on the structural integrity of the building and not the finishing. If the plumbing work is done poorly, it still compromises the structure of the building,” he noted.

Engineers

Isaac Mutenyo, the chairman of Engineers Registration Board, doubts whether regulators are doing their job, adding that when he was constructing a property in Kira, not a single regulator came to supervise the works.

This, he believes in part of the problem. The other source of problems, according to his expertise, is the developers are using quack engineers.

“Our responsibility as an engineering body is to punish any engineer that is employed and does not follow standards. If an engineer does things against standards, you are supposed to come to us and we rectify the issue.  But I have not heard of anybody coming to complain to us over an engineer that has done shoddy work. I strongly believe some of these developers are employing untrained people,” he stated.

Basics

The basic elements of a condominium are:

 The individual ownership of each unit in fee simple.

 An undivided interest in the common elements, which typically include:

Recreation and common areas;  common structural, mechanical, and electrical components of the condominium; and

  other areas or portions of the condominium commonly used by some or all unit owners or which service more than one unit or the entire condominium.

A condominium declaration and condominium survey that create the condominium and govern its use, maintenance, and operation.

An individual unit owner has the right to sell, mortgage, lease, or otherwise convey its condominium unit.