The Harare City Council will soon grant permanent home ownership to long-term tenants in the Mbare Flats and over 7 000 other properties across the city, allowing those who have rented homes from council for over two decades to own the properties.
It is envisaged that this initiative, set to be implemented this year, will provide tenants with security of tenure, paving the way for the issuance of title deeds.
Harare acting Town Clerk Mr Admore Nhekairo confirmed the development.
“We are saying those that have stayed for more than 20 years on rented council property like Mbare Flats will have their tenancies converted to homeownership.
“This is going to be done during the course of this year.
“On the same note, there will also be a number of properties that have been on rental, almost 7 000 properties throughout the city, excluding Mbare Flats.
“We are also saying all those tenants on the 7 000 properties will now be eligible for title deeds once they have paid off the discounts tied to their length of stay.”
He said council is engaging its district officers to speed up the process of engaging some of the long-term tenants so that they could ride on the Presidential Title Deeds and Regularisation Programme.
“At Independence, the Government introduced a homeownership policy that converted most council houses to private ownership,” he said.
“However, block title deeds on many properties delayed the issuance of individual titles.
“Through collaboration with land surveyors, we are now converting these properties to individual homeownership.”
Council, he said, has also assigned three legal practitioners to handle the conveyancing process, ensuring the smooth transfer of ownership to eligible tenants.
Local Government expert Engineer Herbert Jose said granting ownership to long-term residents is a crucial step towards revitalising the communities and improving living conditions of its inhabitants.
“This move by the City of Harare has significant social and economic implications, potentially reducing poverty, improving housing conditions and empowering residents,” he said.
“It also reflects a growing recognition of the importance of secure housing and property rights in fostering sustainable urban development.”
More than 1 000 people have benefitted from the Presidential Title Deeds and Regularisation Programme in Epworth, Harare Metropolitan province, with letters for another 9 000 beneficiaries having already been signed and awaiting issuance.
The programme to provide homeowners with title to their properties will be expanded to benefit an additional 10 000 people.
Sunday Mail
