City threatens to seal unoccupied Benhil apartments

City threatens to seal unoccupied Benhil apartments

JAKARTA (JP): The city housing agency has threatened to seal
off low-cost apartments in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, by
the end of next month unless their owners live there.

An agency official said owners would be sent three warning
letters, ordering them to move quickly into the apartments.

"The first letters have been sent today to more than 180
owners. We give them one week to move in before the second letter
is sent and another week before the final warning is sent," Moh.
Ma'mun, the head of the agency's house allocation department,
said.

Ma'mun said about 30 percent of the 614 units in the Bendungan
Hilir low-cost apartment complex were still vacant and this
violated an agreement between the agency and owners.

The agreement signed in May by the agency and those eligible
for the apartments stipulated that owners must move into the
apartments within two weeks of getting the keys.

The apartments' building was part of the administration's
urban renewal plan.

As many as 374 families, who previously lived in the slum
areas where the apartments now stand, were deemed eligible to get
the apartments. However, many of them sold the apartments, and
some did not use them.

"If an apartment has been vacant for about three months, we
assume they don't live there so they don't need the house. So, we
will give it to people who need it," Ma'mun said.

"We will give back the down payment paid by the original
owners and sell the apartment to others who need it. There will
be no compromise in this matter,' he said.

Ma'mun said the warning was given to check whether the owners
had sold the apartments, which also violates the agreement.

The agreement stipulated owners must live in their apartments
for at least five years before selling or transferring
ownership.

"Through this process we will find out the reasons why they
have not yet lived there, and if we have evidence that they have
sold the apartment we will withdraw their right to get the
apartment," Ma'mun said.

He said firm action must be taken because the basic goal of
the low-cost apartment program was to provide better housing for
those living in slum areas.

Ma'mun was commenting on reports that many apartments in the
complex had been sold for between Rp 20 million (US$8,695) and Rp
40 million.

On Tuesday, city councilors urged the administration to take
tough action against the practice because it was not in line with
the city's program

The city administration has been intensifying low-cost
apartment development in Jakarta in an effort to eliminate slum
areas.

It has built 12,356 units since 1985. However, because of
strategic location and good design, plus relatively cheap prices,
many Jakartans are interested in buying the apartments.

Ma'mun said more than 900 people from various social classes
had registered their names with the agency to get an apartment in
Benhil and more than 1,500 people had registered to get a Tebet
apartment in South Jakarta.

"We have not yet inaugurated the complex in Tebet but many
people are interested in buying one. But our first priority is
those who used to live there," Ma'mun said. (yns)