Effective House Allocation - A case Study of Kenya

EasyChair Preprint 1955

Abstract

There is a severe housing problem that is experienced in most third world countries, especially in urban places. Most people live in below standard shelters (flimsy shelters) that are faced with problems like poor sanitation and lack of electricity. In Kenya house allocation is managed by the National Housing Development Fund (NHDF) under the Affordable Housing Scheme in Kenya. The NHDF plans to distribute 600,000 units using a lottery system to an estimated 2.4 Million eligible Kenyans and those that would fall out of the lottery will be compensated after a period of fifteen years.The houses are not free but are being offered at a much lower rate than the market rates. The program allows Kenyans age 18 years to register on the Boma Yangu platform or seek help from Huduma Centres. In addition to the biodata, employment status and household information, the portal captures details of where registered users prefer living which will inform the government on where the houses will be developed. After registration, a preliminary assessment is then undertaken to verify the authenticity of the details provided and upon completion, the potential homeowners will be allocated a unique identification number to use when making their contribution to their account in the Housing Fund.

Due to increased number of applicants there is need to have proper mechanisms for ensuring the allocation is free , fair and everyone is given an equal chance of getting a house. The lottery system that has been proposed to be used by the government is good but does not take into consideration people's preferences in terms of the type of house and the location. Efficient allocation of houses will ensure that the people who fall in this particular segment own houses and as a result improve their living standards.

Keyphrases: Affordable, Housing, houses

@booklet{EasyChair:1955,
  author    = {Faith Kwamboka and Louisa Kamwele},
  title     = {Effective House Allocation - A case Study of Kenya},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 1955},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2019}}