EVALUATION OF THE INCIDENCE OF RESIDENTIAL HOUSING PROJECTS ABANDONMENT IN NASARAWATOWN, NASARAWA STATE.

The study is on evaluation of the incidence of residential projects abandonment. The aim of this research is to examine the incidence of residential housing projects in Nasarawa town with a view to recommending measures for improvement and the objectives to identifying the incidence of abandoned housing projects in Nasarawa town. Others are; to examine the implication of abandonment of residential projects in Nasarawa town, to identify measures for improving and speedy completion of abandoned residential projects in Nasarawa town. The instrument used for this study is the questionnaire. Out of four hundred and forty nine (449) abandoned houses in Nasarawa town comprising the four political clusters, seventy percent (70%) making three hundred and fourteen 314 were selected, using the simple random sampling technique. Tables were used in presenting the data for the purpose of the simplicity and clarity. In analyzing the data collected for the purpose of carrying out this research, some statistical tools were used. Based on the findings, one hundred and eighty three (40.76%) of the abandoned building projects under study were found in Nasarawa North; one hundred and forty two (31.63%) in Nasarawa East; eighty one (18.04%) in Nasarawa Central and forty three (9.57%) in Nasarawa Main town. Ninety three (30%) of the total abandoned projects are self-contained building; ninety (29%) are 2-bedroom bungalow; seventy-five (24%) are 1-bedroom bungalow; forty eight (15%) are 3-bedroom flats and eight (2%) are four to five bedroom type of building. Two hundred and eighty seven (91.4%) declared personal income as source of funds for the development of their housing projects while twenty seven (8.6%) representing respondents declared that they obtain loan to finance their housing project development. Two hundred and seven (66%) of the respondents are non-indigene of Nasarawa State while one hundred and seven (34%) are indigene. Eighty six (27.39%) of the abandoned housing project are at the lintel level of completion; eighty two (26.11%) are at window level; seventy five (23.88%) are at the floor level; sixty two (19.74%) are at the roof level and only nine (2.87%) are at the finished level. Two hundred and ninety six (94.27%) of the abandoned housing projects were handled by a non professional and only eighteen (5.73%) were handled by a professional. Lack of adequate fund (RII = 0.9357), improper project planning and design (RII = 0.93, and inconsistent government policies (RII = 0.925) were found to be the common causes of abandonment of housing projects. Visual defect to surrounding project site (RII – 0.94), increase in unemployment (RII = 0.93) and criminal hide out (RII = 0.93) were found to be the most common effects of those abandoned houses under study. Theft (91.45%) was found to be the major crime committed within the clusters studied. Conclusion: From the study, important factors that can cause abandonment of housing projects were identified. Using the relative importance index (R.I.I.), lack of adequate fund or finance top the list and this can be attributed to the fact that most of the housing projects were funded with personal income. The study has also established that housing projects abandonment is an indication of decrease in economic value of the area and that other effects of abandonment of housing projects are visual defect to surrounding/project site, increase in unemployment rate, and marginalization of population as well as such abandoned projects serving as criminal hide outs. Adequate planning for any given project at inception based on detailed design, costing and timelines should be undertaken. The disputes, negotiations and court cases should be solved on time and it is preferred that they should not happen and if they happen then the timely solution should be done.