The National Housing Development Corporation Limited, NHDCL has begun allotting housing to private sector employees. According to the NHDCL, private sector employees are given housing in government colonies when vacant apartments become available. So far, the corporation has accepted more than 1700 applications including over 30 from private sector employees. The office first announced that government housing will be open for all in February 2023.
Six individuals working in private companies in Thimphu have moved into NHDCL housing colonies so far. These individuals earn a monthly gross income of less than Nu 16,000.
As and when the houses become empty, the NHDCL said, they make sure that it is available to private employees.
However, the employees must apply online for housing.
Houses are allotted on a first-come-first-basis, provided the applicant fulfils the necessary criteria.
For private sector employees, to get a house, their gross household income in a month should not exceed 16,000 ngultrum.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of NHDCL, due diligence processes with strict monitoring and surveillance measures have been implemented to ensure transparency and fair allotment of housing to private individuals.
Currently, there are 30 private sector employees awaiting government housing.
Rinchen Wangdi, CEO of NHDCL said “His Majesty has repeatedly emphasised the challenges faced by private sector employees, especially in the areas of the salaries they get and the difficulty in getting proper affordable housing. So, although the NHDCL may not be able to resolve all these issues, we felt there are opportunities where NHDCL can do something. So, until now, we have allotted our housing units to six private employees. So, these are among the lowest-earning earners in the private sector.”
In Thimphu alone, around 1,500 applicants are in the waiting list followed by 200 applicants in Phuentshogling and Samdrup Jongkhar.
There are around 1,100 housing units in Thimphu.
For now, the NHDCL has stopped receiving new applications for Thimphu.
Furthermore, the CEO said that the NHDCL office has considered relaxations for the convenience of people who have reached their occupancy period.
There are nearly 300 individuals who have reached the 10-year occupancy period in Changjiji housing colony. 40 of them have vacated the units as they own properties in the capital.
The NHDCL CEO said “We have additional relaxation for them now. If the tenants are disabled, if they have certain forms of disabilities then, they can also be allowed to continue staying. If they are a single parent with school-going children and if they have direct dependence, parents stay with them with mental conditions requiring frequent visits to the hospitals and the final one is if the tenants have less than two years to superannuation. We would not like to have situations where with one year of superannuation, we would not like to let them vacate and look for a private apartment.”
With these relaxations in place, securing affordable government housing may become more challenging for private employees.
Sonam Yuden
Edited by Tshering Zam
