The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has yet to take action against the owners of 1,560 residential units who have rented their houses for commercial purposes, creating serious problems in the city as a number of these houses are being used as guesthouses and offices by non-government organisations (NOGs).
According to an official document obtained from CDA, out of a total of 1506 home owners, 206 have rented out to guesthouses of which 147 are located in sector F-series, 50 in G-series and 9 in I-series. As many as 904 owners have rented out their houses for offices of NOGs of which 503 offices are in sector F-series, 185 in G-series and 146 in I-series.
A total of 405 house owners have rented their houses to schools and tuition academies, of which 154 are located in sector F-series, 117 in G-series while 179 are located in I-series.
An official of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration said that the house owners rent out their premises for commercial purposes in violation of the bylaws in connivance with CDA officials which is not only creating security problems but also badly affecting business in the commercial centers. He said that the growing use of residential units for commercial purposes is not only causing a loss to genuine businessmen, forcing them to wind up their business in commercial areas but is also increasing the crime rate in residential areas.
An official source in CDA told Business Recorder that the illegal use of residential units in developed residential sectors has led to various civic and security problems. He said that the Islamabad Residential Sector Zoning (Building Control) Regulations 2005 clearly prohibit commercial activities of all kinds in residential areas but CDA Building Control Structure (BCS) wing has not enforced these byelaws, which has given birth to commercial use of residential units.
He said the relevant department of the civic body has the authority to cancel the allotment of plots, if the owner of a house is found involved in violating the building rules by using it for commercial purposes. The official said that under the current CDA building regulations, the deputy commissioner CDA is empowered to seal residential premises being used for commercial purposes and can impose a fine between Rs 500,000 and Rs 5,000 on a daily basis in case of frequent violations.
He criticised the performance of CDA deputy commissioner's office, saying it has been turned into a post office. When contacted, Zahid Sultan, CDA director BCS said the authority is fully implementing its byelaws and has cancelled the allotment of 14 plots so far besides vacating several houses being used for commercial purposes.