MHC tenants gets court injunction against hiked rentals

Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) tenants in Mzimba have obtained a court injunction restraining the Corporation from implementing new hiked rentals for its houses.

MHC recently hiked the rentals for its houses in Mzimba with almost 100 percent.

House rentals for junior quarters have been hiked from K2, 904 to K6, 000 where as those at K6, 000 were hiked to K10, 000.

MHC circulated letters to its tenants informing them of the new rentals.

Reads part of the letter that MHC sent to one of its tenants Elias Nyirenda: ”We would like to inform you that Malawi Housing Corporation has increased the monthly rentals for property number MZ/2092 with effect from 1st November, 2012.

Malawi housing corporation wants K6, 000 per month from these houses

”Following the increase, rent for the above property has been adjusted from K2904. 00 to K6, 000. 00. This saves as one month’s notice before implementation of the new rentals.”

The letter was signed by F.K. Malongo, Regional Manager for the north.

However, this increment in rentals did not go down well with tenants who argued that MHC was not justified to raise the rentals because most of the houses were in dilapidated state.

The tenants through their lawyer Christon Ghambi obtained an injunction restraining MHC from effecting the rental hikes.

The tenants want independent evaluators to evaluate the houses and ascertain their true worth.

They argue that MHC has not been maintaining the houses; toilets are in sour state, houses leak.

Granting the injunction, Mzuzu High court judge Justice Dingiswayo Madise said tenants should not pay the hiked rentals until an inter-party hearing which will take place within 14 days.

Meanwhile, MHC has been busy mobilizing sand and bricks in order to maintain the houses and convince its tenants to pay the hiked rentals.

Elsewhere, MHC, with effective from October 1, raised rentals of its houses by between 25 and 30 percent.

MHC own 6 032 housing units across the country and has over 60 000 potential tenants on their waiting list.

Tenants complain of poor services such as toilets

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