PM Shah says housing rights of every citizen will be guaranteed

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said the government will ensure the right to housing for every citizen.

In a social media post on Saturday, Shah said a bill to amend the existing legal framework, titled the ‘Building Act, 2083’, has been registered at the Federal Parliament Secretariat with the objective of ensuring housing rights for all citizens.

According to Shah, the bill, registered on Friday, proposes measures to ensure housing for low-income families and safe and well-managed housing for middle-income families.

The proposed legislation includes a provision to provide free river-based and natural construction materials required for citizens building a house for the first time, in accordance with standards and designs prescribed by the government.

Similarly, citizens applying to construct sheds for livestock would be provided with necessary natural construction materials free of cost, he said.

Shah said the bill proposes grants of up to Rs 75,000 for poor and disadvantaged citizens to ensure housing, with Rs 50,000 to be provided by the federal government and Rs 25,000 by provincial governments.

The bill also proposes relocating settlements deemed vulnerable, unsafe or at risk of disasters to safer locations and constructing new houses for the affected residents, according to Shah.

For middle-income citizens, the proposed Building Act and regulations would provide for the construction and availability of safe, earthquake-resistant smart homes meeting basic standards.

Shah said such houses would cost between Rs 2 million and Rs 7.5 million and have a floor area of 900 to 1,300 square feet.

Citizens would be able to obtain the houses through concessional loans. Under the initial proposal, a house could be obtained by making an advance payment of Rs 500,000 and paying monthly instalments of Rs 11,000 for up to 15 years.

The proposal also includes options for an advance payment of Rs 1 million with a monthly instalment of Rs 15,000, Rs 1.5 million with Rs 20,000 monthly instalments, Rs 2 million with Rs 30,000 monthly instalments, and Rs 2.5 million with Rs 35,000 monthly instalments.

Shah said the proposed legislation aims to legally guarantee the right to housing for every Nepali citizen, ranging from housing support for low-income citizens to safe and organised housing for middle-income families.