Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has called for urgent interventions from financial institutions to protect homeowners against repossessions after years of payments, equating it to wanton disregard for dignity and against humanity.
Speaking at a strategic staff meeting of the Bank of Namibia (BoN) this week, Ngurare said Namibians are losing their homes due to circumstances beyond their control, even after paying for decades.
“There are people who have been paying for their houses for many years and then somewhere after 20 years, they default because of conditions beyond their control. Then someone comes and repossesses the house,” he said.
The premier also called for a national dialogue led by the central bank and financial institutions to find fair solutions for homeowners who default late into their loans.
“If you have invested N$500 000 or more over time, we must find ways to ensure that the house is not simply repossessed or auctioned.
At least people must be able to recoup what they have invested instead of losing everything on the spot because of financing technicalities,” he said.
He stressed that the approach should “place humanity above all else”, adding that financial institutions should not see the government’s involvement as interference.
“We cannot say we are all Africans, and we care, while we are repossessing houses because of technicalities of money,” he said.
He also questioned why housing loans take decades to repay, compared to vehicles.
“Why is it that I can pay off my car in five years, but I cannot do that with a house? If there are laws that prevent this, then the time has come for us to review them,” he said.
Crisis
Namibia continues to face a severe housing crisis, with a backlog estimated at more than 300 000 houses.
Rapid urbanisation has pushed many people into informal settlements, where access to basic services remains limited.
Property prices remain out of reach for many.
In urban areas such as Windhoek, a basic house can cost between N$600 000 and over N$1 million, while even entry-level homes built through government schemes often exceed N$300 000.
For many low-income earners, these prices remain unaffordable.
The government has identified housing as a priority under NDP6, which aims to build about 55 000 houses and service over 50 000 plots by 2030.
The plan also seeks to reduce informal settlements and expand access to basic services such as water, roads and electricity.
The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) says affordable housing remains critical to addressing the shortage.
The institution focuses on providing housing for low- and middle-income earners through reduced-cost houses and loan schemes.
Ngurare said government reforms must improve people’s daily lives, including making financial services more accessible and affordable.
Land indaba
The issue has long been a national concern and was strongly raised during the Second National Land Conference in 2018, the second time Namibians convened to dissect pertinent matters around land and housing provision. The first was in 1992.
During the last time out, delegates at the conference called for urgent legal reforms to make the system more just and humane.
Resolutions from the conference urged the government to review foreclosure laws, strengthen protection against arbitrary evictions, and ensure that people are not unfairly dispossessed of property.
There were also calls to regulate how properties are auctioned, improve transparency in the process, and explore alternatives to repossession, especially for vulnerable households.
The conference further emphasised the need to balance the rights of financial institutions with the rights of citizens, warning that land and housing are not just economic assets but social and emotional anchors for families.
According to a 2018 presentation by the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia’s Edith Mbanga, the need to make land more accessible to low-income groups was pressing.
“Monthly income of households in informal settlements is below N$3 000 and on average N$1 500. They can only afford between N$375 and N$750 per month for both land, shelter and services,” she said at the time.
The federation proposed the need to reach a solution that will reach most of the population.
These include subsidies for bulk infrastructure, enabling finance for communities to install water and sanitation services themselves.
She also told the conference that most urban residents were living in informal settlements because they could not afford formal housing, mainly due to the high cost of serviced land.
She argued that conventional housing models were failing the poor and called for alternative approaches such as incremental housing, where people build step by step, and in-situ upgrading of informal settlements instead of relocating communities.
Rent control
Furthermore, high rental prices continue being a thorn in Namibians’ flesh.
Recently, talks of Namibia’s Rent Control Boards entered the procurement phase, with the government preparing to appoint specialist consultants through an open national bidding process as part of broader reforms aimed at modernising the country’s rental market framework.
The initiative forms part of government efforts to address longstanding regulatory gaps in Namibia’s rental sector, where existing legislation has largely remained dormant since independence.
For lawyer Kadhila Amoomo, rent control is long overdue.
In no uncertain terms, he said, “Rent is killing young Namibians, as it is just too high”.
“It is true that others are making a living from rent, but we must control it before it is too late. This industry must be regulated just like taxis and petrol stations,” he said.
He then moved to proposed rates for rental prices in the capital.
“For Windhoek, we propose the following: Okahandja Park and One Nation, not more than N$1 000 per room; Ombili, Greenwell, Hakahana and Okuryangava, not more than N$1 500 per room; Khomasdal, not more than N$3 000 per room; Windhoek North, West, Hochland, Dorado and Rocky Crest, not more than N$3 500 per room; Eros, Cimbebasia, Klein Windhoek, Kleine Kuppe, Academia and Pioneerspark, not more than N$4 500 per room; Central Business District, not more than N$5 000 per room. We call upon Parliament to regulate this industry as soon as possible,” he said.