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)