Lumanti, a non-government organisation, has started a rental housing project for low-income families.

The project aims to ‘influence’ the government to come up with a policy to promote rental housing to offer affordable homes to the poor.

Lumanti will build a four-storey building on 9.5 annas of land in Dhobighat, Lalitpur. Each of the 24 units will have an area of 180 sqft and will include a kitchen corner, toilet and balcony.

The project, supported by UK-based INGO Homeless International, will also incorporate green features like bio-climatic design, rain water harvesting, ground water recharge and solar powered LED lights in common spaces. “We target to complete the construction within a year,” said Lumanti Executive Director Lajana Manandhar, adding that with no proper policy to address housing needs of the poor amid rapidly increasing urbanisation, the project would set an example.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 22 million. According to Lumanti, families will be selected on the basis of criteria to be developed in consultation with stakeholders. Rental fee would be Rs 2,500 per month per unit.

Study reports have showed that above 30 percent of the country’s urban population lives in rented spaces, with affordable housing for low-income people being a major problem. For the lack of affordable housing schemes or specific rental policies/regulations, many families end up squatting on government/private land.

“This type of project can be one of best options to provide shelter to a huge number of city dwellers who cannot afford apartment and houses,” said Suresh Prakash Acharya, member secretary of the Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee. He added that the government was working to build low-cost houses for the poor and also offer finance facilities.

source:The Kathmandu Post, 29 March 2012