Nairobi-Based Real Estate Company Refunds Millions of Shillings to Home Buyers

A real estate company has refunded millions of shillings to home buyers due to the financial hardships triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lordship Africa announced it refunded Sh40 million in pre-sales deposits to 12 people, who were seeking to buy apartments in its upcoming 88-Nairobi luxury development.

Lordship Africa chairman Jonathan Jackson said the refund was as a result of financial challenges facing the affected homebuyers, and the delay of construction due to the COVID-19 protocols.

“We refunded the deposits in full ranging from Sh5 million to Sh12 million. Pre-Covid sales stood at 50 apartments that were sold at between Sh15 million for one-bedroom apartments to Sh25 million for two-bedroom apartments,” said Jackson.

ZJCC, the Chinese contractor building the Sh5.2 billion 44-storey building in Nairobi’s Upperhill area, recently resumed operations after a nine-month break.

“We have resumed sales and currently they stand at 60 units. This will continue until we reach 150 units where the rest will be sold at premium prices upon completion within the next 36 months,” said Jackson.

The real estate sector has been one of the worst-hit by the pandemic, with property developers and buyers struggling to raise funds amid tighter credit conditions by lenders.

The sector’s growth slowed to 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 7.2 percent expansion in a similar period of 2019, according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).