Residents puzzled over their apartment payment

JAKARTA (JP): Residents living in low-cost apartments built in the subdistrict of Tanah Tinggi, Central Jakarta, are confused by the lack of information concerning payment for their apartments.

Most of residents of the new low-cost apartments have no idea of the value of their new property, nor do they know anything about the monthly installments because nobody has told them.

This has created anxiety among the residents. They have settled into their new homes but are afraid they will be forced to abandon them because of their inability to pay the installments.

"Yes, I am happy with my new home. Even though it is smaller it has a better and healthier environment. However, now I am worried about the installments because up until now there hasn't been any announcement about how much I have to pay," Mrs. Onah, a resident of the apartment, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

She explained that her husband is unemployed and there is no way he can pay the monthly installments for the two apartments the family live in. "All of my family depend on my eldest son, he is the only one who has a steady income," Onah said.

Tanah Tinggi low-cost housing complex used to be a slum area which was ravaged by fire in 1993. The city administration immediately built the apartments on the site last year as part of its program to phase out slum areas.

The first priority for apartments was given to victims of the fire which left 484 families of 2,590 people homeless. Four of the six apartment blocks to be built in the area have been completed and the remaining two are still under construction and are expected to be completed next February.

For residents intending to live in the apartments, the city administration did not compensate them for the land, which was appropriated for the establishment of the apartments. These residents are required to pay only 50 percent of the total value. The remaining 50 percent is subsidized by the city administration.

Commenting to the many complaints, head of the City Housing Office Ongky Sukasah said yesterday that his office has told the residents everything about the payments.

However, Ongky's statement was denied by Onah, who insisted, "They did not tell me anything when I received the keys to the apartments."

"Until now I have no idea about the compensation of my land. And I don't know how much the installments are either," said Chairul Amri, a resident who used to own a 100 square-meter plot.

However, he said that there is a chance that he will not have to pay anything since his land was large enough to pay for the three units occupied by his family.

"Somebody told me that the installments range from Rp 37,000 to Rp 180,000 per month. It will be less if the compensation is deducted," Chairul said. (yns)