Mbare residents face eviction

Harare City Council (HCC) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to tenants living in Mbare flats to settle outstanding rental arrears or face eviction, despite the residents enduring squalid and deteriorating living conditions.

In a notice dated June 18, 2025, the council's Director of Housing, Addmore Nhekairo, warned residents that failure to clear their debts would result in enforcement of eviction orders.

"Since you have ignored various reminders and notices to clear the outstanding rental arrears, you are hereby served with a final notice to pay the outstanding amount or vacate the property to avoid continuous prejudice to council," the notice reads.
"Failure to pay monthly rentals is a serious breach of the lease agreement, which mandates the City of Harare to invoke its conditions and recover holding costs from the lessee."

The eviction warning is part of a broader city-wide drive by HCC to recover money owed by tenants leasing council-owned properties.

In Mbare, however, the directive comes amid long-standing calls for the council to urgently renovate the ageing flats, which residents and civic groups say are uninhabitable.

Last year, the High Court ordered HCC to refurbish the flats to meet minimum living standards, but the city has appealed the ruling. Reports from the area point to widespread sewer blockages, structural decay, and unsafe sanitation.

Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) director, Ruben Akili, criticised the move, saying the council must first address the dire living conditions before demanding payments.

"These are the same flats we had a court order for renovations. The situation in Mbare is unacceptable – sewer is gushing all over and many other problems are unresolved," Akili told NewZimbabwe.

"From CHRA's perspective, some residents are paying and some are not. The local authority should address the fundamental problems that explain why residents are not paying."

Residents argue that the lack of maintenance and service delivery has eroded their willingness to meet rental obligations.

While the council insists on recovering outstanding arrears, pressure is mounting for it to balance debt recovery with improving living conditions for some of Harare's most vulnerable residents.