Uganda’s building taxes come under scrutiny as lawyers push for housing reform

Owning a decent home can mean taking on debt before the building costs are even covered. That is the affordability problem the Uganda Law Society (ULS) is urging the government to address, according to Daily Monitor Uganda (direct). Its vice president, Antony Asiimwe, says high taxes on construction materials put suitable housing beyond the reach of many ordinary Ugandans. The society wants a housing policy that addresses both the cost of building and the risks of buying land.

Asiimwe made the appeal on October 3 at the signing of a memorandum of understanding, a cooperation agreement, between ULS and property developer Pearl Marina Estates. The deal gives ULS members a discount on condominium purchases and payment arrangements intended to help them move from renting to owning. But his message went beyond the lawyers covered by the agreement: making housing expensive and inaccessible leaves many Ugandans struggling to secure decent homes.

Asiimwe’s warning: high taxes on building materials make decent homeownership harder for ordinary Ugandans without borrowing.

Building costs and land risks

Asiimwe identified taxes on building materials as one of the obstacles a housing policy should confront. He linked those costs to the difficulty of acquiring property without bank loans or other debt. His call was for a broader policy response to the barriers facing households, rather than simply a way to improve access to a single housing development. The challenge, in his account, is to make quality housing attainable for more Ugandans.

Land ownership is another part of that challenge. Asiimwe said the policy should also address fraud involving land sold to multiple buyers. For people trying to secure a home, that exposes the purchase itself to uncertainty. He also highlighted the expense of litigation, the legal process of resolving disputes through the courts. His proposal therefore puts the security of a property purchase alongside the affordability of construction.

A discount against a much larger shortage

Under the Pearl Marina agreement, ULS members buying a condominium—an individually owned home within a shared development—will receive a 2.5 percent discount. ULS treasurer Arthur Isiko said buyers could negotiate with the developer, pay an initial deposit and then make instalments until the full price is paid. He presented the arrangement as an opportunity for lawyers to obtain good housing through payments agreed with the company.

Pearl Marina Estates sales and marketing manager Sylvia Alal urged the government to pursue similar partnerships as part of its response to the housing challenge. The agreement offers a route for participating lawyers, while the national figures reported by Daily Monitor point to a problem on a far larger scale.

Citing the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, the report says 60 percent of Ugandans live in informal settlements or inadequate housing. It puts the housing deficit at 2.6 million units and the required annual building pace at 300,000 homes. Rapid urbanisation, population growth and economic disparities are identified as drivers. Housing contributes about 11 percent of gross domestic product, a measure of economic output, but the supply-demand gap constrains growth and employment opportunities. The next issue to watch is whether the government takes up ULS’s call on material costs and land ownership, alongside the push for housing partnerships.