An Examinaiton Of Maintanance Culture Of Public Housing Estate In Akwa Ibom State (A Case Study Of Shelter Afrique Model Estate, Uyo)
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background To The Study
Housing maintenance is often necessitated by deterioration which usually keeps to depreciation in value and utility of the housing unit. The depreciation usually have economic and health implications for the occupier, owners and even the entire neighborhood. Continuous physical, deterioration may lead to obsolescence. According to Wilhelmosson (2004), depreciation can be caused by three different reasons, namely physical deterioration, functional obsolescence and external obsolescence. Functional obsolescence is usually due to technological changes, design and or societal taste. On the other hand external obsolescence is usually are result of changing neighborhood character. This is what Rossi Hausberg and Sarte (2012) called “housing externalities”, where refers to the effect s that the level of maintenance of other houses, facilities and services in the neighborhood collectively have on individual houses; and over which individuals have on control.
Thus, externalities are very common in housing market. As most people know, investment no and maintenance of one neighbor’s properties affect the beauty, cleanliness and overall amenities of other neighbor’s and street and neighborhood and as a result affect the value of their house and the house service’s they derive from it ( Rossi-Hansberg and Sarte, 2012,).
Therefore, while total refurbishment can be carried out by owner to upgrade to contemporary design, provide state-of-the art technological equipment and facilities to ameliorate functional obsolescence. The third cause of obsolescence is physical deterioration; which has to do with the failing physical components to arrest the physical deterioration which is within the control of individual owners.
Economically, it is reasonable to carryout maintenance work if the functional and external obsolescence will not renter such maintenance work unless. This is particularly important in case of housing externalities which may make whatever maintenance work carried out unviable if the condition of the neighborhood is appelling. Similarly, when the cost of maintenance is too high and investment in physical maintenance becomes unreasonable, it maybe be worth while to expand money on physical maintenance. Therefore, any maintenance expenditure must be subject to viability test, not only in term of physical deterioration, but also in term of functional and external obsolescence. Thus, if the neighborhood characteristics will render the cost of physical maintenance unreasonable, then it might become unnecessary to go ahead to invest in maintenance. Individual maintenance decision is based on personal economic consideration. Unfortunately however, such individual decision to carryout maintenance or not of individual properties will affect another neighbur with increasing distance. It is the summation of the individual decisions on maintenance of their properties that will give the neighborhood her image. Also, their level of cooperation in the maintenance of the neighborhood facilities in turn will have effects on their individual properties in addition to give the neighborhood their character.
A housing estate is an area of land on which many houses are built either by public authority or private institutions. In Nigeria, most housing estates are built by public agencies such as Federal, State or Local Government Authority or Corporate Institutions. Maintenances in public estate transcends beyond taking care of the buildings alone, but other auxiliary facilities, utilities and services provided in the entire estate. Okoh and Ebi (2013) observed that the almost exclusive concentration of infrastructure provision and maintenance in the hands of the public sector, especially in developing countries has led to failures in the supply and maintenance. The condition of infrastructural development may be attributable to many years of under-i vestment arising from constitutional provision, inadequate policies and implementation strategics, poor privatization and commercialization policies, poverty level of citizens and lack of enabling environment for private level.
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
Maintenance culture has become a widely recognized problems in Nigeria which has poorly affected the quality of public properties. The basis of this research is to assess on how to carried out repair, renovation, maintenance and how to enhance the quality of public housing estate in Shelter Afrique model estate, Uyo as the case study.
The creation or the establishment of certain real estate development projects are usually done with certain aim and objectives in mind by the property investor or developer, whether public or private. This aim may be in terms of expectation of huge financial yields and return, may be for prestige , store of value, it may also be for providing some basic needs like shelter to man. However, the ultimate goal of most real estate developments is for profit making.
The creation of APICO shelter Afrique Housing Estate has over time pulled a teeming population pressure which basically abounds around the housing estate. The impact of this development in terms of population is characterized with various conglomeration of people from all walks of life with different prospective motives which be either positive or negative. Based on the stated facts above, the burden of this work is to examine the factors affecting maintenance culture, the level of compliance to the goals of sustainable maintenance culture and ways of adopted to enhances the quality of maintenance culture in Shelter Afrique Model Estate Uyo.
However, today we experience many abandon public housing estate from state to federal housing estate. This could be cause by corruption, political interference, change in government, lack of continuity etc. Also bring negative effects on society.
1.3 Aim Of The Study
The aim of this study is to examine the level of maintenance culture in Shelter Afrique Model Estate Uyo.
1.4 Objectives Of The Study
The following are the objectives of this study:
To determine the factors affecting maintenance culture in Shelter Afrique Model Estate, Uyo.
To determine the types of maintenance activities carried out in Shelter Afrique Model Estate, Uyo.
To suggest ways of enhancing the quality of maintenance activities carried out in the Study Area.
1.5 Research Questions
The following research questions were postulated in line with the research objectives:
What are the factors affecting maintenance culture in Shelter Afrique Model Estate Uyo?
What are the types of maintenance activities carried out in Housing Estate?
What are the ways of enhancing, the quality of maintenance activities in the Study Area?
1.6 Significance Of The Study
The finding from this study will educate government officials who are the policy makers, stakeholders in building industry and the general public on the need to reexamine the maintenance culture of public housing estate in Shelter Afrique Model Estate Uyo?
This research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further researches, in this field subsequently.
1.7 Scope Of The Study
This study on examination of maintenance culture of public housing estate in Akwa Ibom State will cover the situation at Shelter Afrique Model Estate to the adequate maintenance of public housing, looking at ways to examine maintenance culture with a view to improve the quality of public housing estate.
1.8 The Study Area
Shelter Afrique Model Estate is located at Mbiabong Etoi at Km 10 along Uyo. The land area covers approximately 40 hectares. The foundation stone that the estate laid in April, 2000 and the first of housing units were commissioned in November, 2002. It is designed to accommodate a total of 1000 houses of various types at full development.
By 2002, a total of 305 houses were developed comprising of 235 newly built houses and 72 structures which were originally built to provide accommodation for members of the Akwa Ibom State parliament, but we’re rejected on ground of un- serviceability. The estate is managed by Akwa Ibom Property and Investment Company Ltd (APICO).
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