Harare City Council has allayed the fears of homeowners whose properties were built on residential land albeit without the authorities’ approval.
The council revealed that it will not demolish the structures but ensure that they are formalised.
This was revealed by Town Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango in an interview with The Herald. He said:
We are talking about houses that have been built with plans that have not been approved by the City of Harare.
Those plans must be submitted to the city and inspections will be done on those properties.
This will benefit the people because once they formalise their stands, the council will give them certificates of ownership that will allow them to acquire title deeds for their properties.
Regularising properties gives security of tenure to homeowners. It also gives confidence to investors. We are not just regularising settlements.
We are also massively licensing businesses and the informal sector. The idea is to give legitimacy to all those who want to operate legally in the city.
Eng. Chisango said that the move is set to benefit the property owners as the council will give them certificates that will enable them to acquire title deeds.
The city has put in measure to prevent fresh invasions.
Eng. Chisango also explained how the regularisation process is done:
You need to be allocated to a surveyed stand, the information is available from the surveyor’s office. You need proof of ownership of the land.
You need that stand to be on an allocated piece of land which is approved in an approved town planning layout.
Once the approved plan is available you are then free to apply for a title for the development of that piece of land.
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