The Gweru City Council’s announcement that it plans to sell council-owned rented houses on the open market if tenants fail to purchase them has raised concerns of disenfranchisement among residents.
Last week, town clerk Livingston Churu issued a formal notice inviting tenants “to lodge objections with the director of housing and community services by May 31, 2026.”
He said those managing deceased estates “should also step forward to present their views on the proposed sale.”
There are over 200 council housing units in the high-density suburbs of Senga, Mkoba, and Mtapa that the local authority intends to sell on the open market.
The homes were originally built by the council as rental accommodation for low-income residents.
In the early 1990s, a government scheme was introduced to empower tenants to purchase their rented homes, but many did not take up the offer due to financial constraints.
Over time, some properties were sublet or occupied by illegal tenants, complicating ownership.
Housing and community services director, Joseph Zimusi, said council had not yet made a resolution to sell the units on the open market but confirmed it was considering the move.
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“The local authority is not selling yet but intends to sell the houses on the open market because legal sitting tenants are not taking up the offer to buy these houses as per the government scheme that empowered people to own houses in the early 1990s,” Zimusi said.
“Some legal tenants are even enriching themselves by subletting the houses, or the houses are now occupied by illegal tenants who were not allocated the houses by council.
“We are saying first preference to purchase the houses is given to sitting legal tenants, but if they fail to take up the offer, this will be extended to anyone willing and able to buy the houses.”
However, a residents association, The Pulse of Gweru PBC, said while it supports the general idea of transferring ownership to residents, it is opposed to subjecting the housing units to open market sale.
“This cannot be allowed at a time when it is the duty of council to ensure residents have roofs over their heads,” the association said.
The residents association noted that the open market idea will leave tenants destitute by subjecting them to competition with outsiders.
“Most tenants are from low-income backgrounds and may not qualify for commercial loans, and some are pensioners and elderly people,” noted The Pulse of Gweru PBC.
