Mebrat Hail Condominium

Mebrat Hail Condominium, often called Gofa Mebrat Hail, is one of the largest government condominium sites in Addis Ababa. It lies in the Gofa area of Nifas Silk-Lafto sub-city, south of the city center and north of Lebu. A 2025 study counts about 5,580 units on the site and dates its first occupation to 2009. Mebrat Hail is the Amharic name for the state power utility. OpenStreetMap marks a utility (EEPCo) site at Lebu Mebrat Hail, south of the blocks.

Several other places in Addis Ababa share the Mebrat Hail name, such as Ayat Mebrat Hail, Gerji Mebrat Hail and Kotebe Mebrat Hail. This page covers the Gofa site. For Gerji, see our Gerji condominium page.

Where it is and how to get there

OpenStreetMap places the main site, Mebrat Haile Condominium, about 2 km north of the Lebu Mebrat Hail area. Block numbers run high. One block on the map is Block 177. Landmarks inside and around the site include St. Urael church, a football ground and branches of Bank of Abyssinia and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia named after the site.

• Roads. A primary road runs from Gofa Mazoria to Mebrat Hail. In August 2022 the city opened the 3.8 km Sarbet, Gofa Mazoria, Pushkin and Gotera road. It links the Gofa area with Sarbet and the Gotera interchange.
• Buses and taxis. OpenStreetMap shows a Sheger bus route from the Mebrat Condominium stop to Piassa. Minibus routes run from the Lebu Mebrat Hail area to Mexico and to Ayer Tena.
• Light rail. We could not confirm a light rail stop near the site. The north-south line has a stop at Gotera, to the north-east.

History and housing program

The site belongs to the early years of the city's Integrated Housing Development Program. A 2025 paper in Frontiers in Built Environment says it became functional in 2009, the same year as Gotera.

A 2011 UN-Habitat report links the site to the Lideta inner-city renewal. When the city cleared Lideta, 780 households moved to the Gotera and Gofa sites. The report also notes that at Gofa the price of each unit included a share of the cost of the communal buildings.

Those communal buildings have not worked well. A 2015 Addis Ababa University thesis studied three of them at Gofa Mebrat Haile. It found that most stood abandoned and that 75 percent of the residents it surveyed had never used them. Some served as stores, offices or shops through informal deals with the owners' association.

Blocks and unit types

The site has the four standard unit types: studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom. Blocks from this period are four or five storeys above the ground floor and have no lift.

Listings in 2026 show 1 bedroom units of about 39 m² and 2 bedroom units of 62 to 85 m². Ask the seller whether a size is the area on the title map or a larger figure that includes common areas.

Prices to buy and rent

Listings for this site are few. These are the asking prices we found:

The seller of the 1 bedroom unit says it rents for about ETB 16,000 a month. In 2022, The Reporter named Gofa Mebrat Hail with Balderas, Gotera and Gerji as the most expensive condominium sites in the city. With so few listings, compare several units before you agree a price. Browse current condominiums for sale and condominiums for rent.

Living there

The site is large and mostly residential, with churches and banks close by. It is closer to the center than Jemo, and the Gofa Mazoria road gives a direct route north to Sarbet. The Lebu area to the south offers more space and newer houses.

Because the site is old, check the state of the block. Look at the stairs, roofs, water tanks and pumps. Ask the owners' association about the monthly fee and how it manages shared spaces.

Buying checks

1. Title. Ask for the title deed or digital map certificate. Check that the name matches the seller's ID.
2. Loan balance. Ask the bank for any remaining loan and agree in writing who pays it.
3. Transfer. Confirm with the housing office that the unit can transfer. Our guide to the Addis Ababa Housing Development Corporation explains the process.
4. Occupancy rules. The city has told owners of empty units to move in or lose their contracts. Check the current rules before you buy only to rent out.
5. Fees. Add broker fees and transfer taxes. See property tax and fees in Ethiopia.

Our condominium guide covers the schemes, resale rules and known disputes.