Nairobi County launches crackdown on land rate, rent defaulters
National
By
Mike Kihaki
| May 11, 2025
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja before Administration and Internal Security committee on March 3, 2025 [Elvis Ogina, Standard]
Property owners with late land rate payments in Nairobi face a sweeping enforcement operation starting Monday, May 12, when the grace period officially ends.
This is a move by the Nairobi County government to recover billions of rates that the county says are in arrears.
“We gave them waivers—now we must act. From Monday, we will begin full enforcement. That means clamping of properties, issuing of notices, and legal proceedings for chronic defaulters,” Tiras Njoroge, Nairobi’s Receiver of Revenue at the county stated.
The operation will begin with high-value properties in areas like Westlands, Upper Hill, Kilimani, and Industrial Area before expanding into residential estates.
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A new county data system mapping all 256,000 land parcels will enable enforcement teams to access real-time compliance data.
“Those who have been paying should not carry the load for the rest,” said Njoroge. “We are ready to publish the names of chronic defaulters if that’s what it takes.”
Meanwhile, the county has launched a parallel campaign targeting rent defaulters in Nairobi’s public housing estates.
Lydia Mathia, Nairobi’s Housing Chief Officer, confirmed that officers have already been dispatched to enforce rent collection in estates like Woodley, Kariokor, Ngara, Uhuru, and Harambee.
“Some tenants are paying Sh11,000 to Sh17,000 for houses that would go for over Sh50,000 in the market—yet they still default. We shall not allow this to continue. To those not paying — we are coming to collect without fail,” she said.
The county is aiming to recover over Sh200 million in unpaid rent.
According to Governor Johnson Sakaja, the city’s residents’ compliance stands at a dismal 20 percent, a situation he described as “unsustainable.”