Nairobi's 'sick' buildings take health toll on residents

Dramatic building collapses continue to grab headlines, with multiple incidents in early 2026 alone claiming lives and exposing a severe crisis in construction standards.

The greater, more pervasive danger, however, lies in the thousands of poorly designed and irregularly constructed buildings that remain standing.

Nairobi’s housing problem is not just about collapsing buildings but also about standing sick buildings that quietly harm residents’ health, reduce productivity, and lower the quality of life.

Humans spend roughly 90 per cent of their time indoors. Sick buildings fail to provide basic human needs like fresh air, natural daylight, thermal comfort, safety and dignity.

“Sick buildings are not the ones that fall,” said George Ndege, the President of the Architecture Association of Kenya (AAK).

“They are the ones that stand up but fail to provide basic shelter, fresh air, natural light, safety, and comfort, turning homes into environments that make people ill.”

Built environment experts warn that thousands of sick buildings, described as "substandard housing", in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, look habitable but are slowly harming residents’ health and productivity and, in some instances, killing them.

This is at a time when Kenya is aggressively pushing ahead with its ambitious affordable housing programme.

According to George Ndege, Nairobi faces a dual crisis of "too few homes and too many bad ones".

Further, a severe housing shortage is driven by rapid population growth, rural-urban migration, and natural population increase. Demand far outstrips supply, leaving residents with few choices.

“Second, the existing housing stock is plagued by low quality. Many buildings were constructed irregularly,  bypassing professional architects, engineers, and proper county inspections,” Ndege said. 

AAK also blames developers for often cutting corners to maximise profits, while high demand ensures that even substandard units are quickly occupied.  

“Basic building code requirements are routinely ignored,” Ndege said. 

He observed that real tragedies have occurred when standards such as adequate window sizes and cross-ventilation, properly calculated staircases with consistent riser and tread dimensions, and sufficient natural daylight are flouted. 

Also, when Safe railings, appropriate room sizes, and the use of non-toxic materials such as low-VOC or lead-free paints are bypassed, tragedies occur. 

“Families have died from carbon monoxide poisoning after cooking with charcoal in small, unventilated rooms during cold weather and sealing windows for warmth,” Ndege.

A recent report by the lobby, dubbed Sick Homes, Sick People, notes that children spend about 80 to 90 per cent of their time indoors, making habitable and safe housing critical for their growth. 

Recent data, however, shows that many houses in Kenya are not structurally fit for human habitation and pose serious health risks. 

Homes play a critical role in fetal and early childhood exposure, making access to affordable, accessible, culturally appropriate, habitable, and safe housing a fundamental human right. 

Kenya is one of the world's fastest-urbanising countries, and the rise in the urban population has been accompanied by the growth of informal settlements and poorly planned neighbourhoods. Numerous vulnerable populations experience precarious housing disproportionately. 

According to the report, poor housing conditions can be traced to several health risks responsible for considerable disease and deaths globally. 

It describes Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) as a situation in which a building’s occupants experience severe health or comfort-related effects that can be directly linked to the time they spend in the building.

Symptoms of SBS include dizziness, headaches, nausea, dry cough, eye, nose, or throat irritation, allergies, dry cough, and dry or itchy skin, among others. It has also been proven to increase the incidence of asthma attacks and personality changes. 

“Ventilation is a leading cause and has been found to account for 60 per cent of indoor air quality problems. Poor ventilation leads to the accumulation of pollutants such as mould, dust, smoke, allergens, cleaning products, and other chemicals,” says the Sick Homes, Sick People report. 

In the report, damp indoor environments and excessive moisture from floods and leaks catalyse the growth of microbial agents such as moulds, which are among the most common sources of building-related illnesses.

“These factors may cause new disorders or exacerbate pre-existing conditions and vary in severity and acuteness of occupational asthma, rhinitis, dermatitis, conjunctivitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, Legionella infection, and carbon monoxide poisoning,” the report says.

Productivity Costs

While residents often fail to link frequent illnesses to their living conditions, the Architectural Association reports that poor air circulation contributes to recurring flu, colds, migraines, and respiratory issues.

“Dampness, peeling paint, and cold walls signal moisture problems that can worsen allergies and other conditions,” said George Ndege. “Poor colour choices in interiors can disrupt sleep and mood, while high-VOC paints release chemicals that linger, especially when families move in before proper airing.” 

Workers wake up feeling “under the weather”, leading to reduced productivity whether in offices or during work-from-home days.

“Productivity starts with how fresh you feel in the morning,” the architect noted. “If your living space is making you sick, your output at work declines.”

Cramped spaces, such as bedrooms that are too small to comfortably fit a bed, or kitchens lacking space for a sink, cooking area, and storage, create feelings of being “squeezed”, affecting mental well-being, according to experts.

According to George Ndege, warning signs of sick buildings include persistent dampness or peeling paint on walls and ceilings, rooms requiring lights on during daytime, even on bright days, staircases with inconsistent or overly high steps and unsafe railings.

Also, kitchens are too small for basic functions, feeling constantly too hot or too cold inside, regardless of external weather, and lack proper airflow. 

Built experts say these issues stem from instances when developers bypass professionals to save costs, rogue architects provide minimal drawings, county inspectors fail to enforce regulations or turn a blind eye after collecting fees, and desperate tenants accept whatever is available due to limited options.

Responsible?

Experts have placed the heaviest responsibility on developers who prioritise returns over safety and on county authorities legally tasked with planning, approving, inspecting, and enforcing standards.

“Some professionals enable the problem by doing substandard work, while ordinary Kenyans at the bottom of the chain bear the smallest share, often due to lack of knowledge or economic pressure,” Ndege.

Recent reports have highlighted systemic failures in development control, with capacity constraints and governance issues at county level contributing to unsafe buildings.

Looking Ahead

The government’s Affordable Housing Programme aims to increase supply significantly. Proponents argue that greater supply will give Kenyans better choices and reduce pressure to accept substandard housing. 

However, experts stress that quantity alone is not enough. New projects must adhere to healthy homes standards, with proper design, professional oversight, and strict enforcement, to avoid simply multiplying the problem.

Until then, Nairobi’s housing crisis remains dire. Informal settlements continue to expand, and many residents live in dignified-looking buildings that quietly undermine their health, productivity, and safety.

Green buildings

Green buildings offer a sustainable solution to these health risks by utilising non-toxic, eco-friendly materials and promoting an improved indoor environment.

A Status of the Built Environment report has shown that Kenya’s construction industry in 2025 was navigating structural reforms, shifting economic conditions, and evolving urbanisation pressures.

Currently, buildings contribute over 10.7 per cent of Kenya’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, decarbonising the built environment remains a national priority.

The report by the AAK points out that the fight against climate change will remain elusive without strong planning tools and effective urban management systems to support mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Further, between late 2024 and October 2025, more than 315,500 people were displaced by floods, 228 people lost their lives, 12,000 livestock died, and over 36,000 acres of cropland were destroyed. At the same time, the country faces a climate adaptation financing gap estimated at Sh335 trillion.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Kenya produced 17.703 million tonnes of CO₂ in 2023, of which 32 per cent were generated by the built environment.

Currently, 31.9 per cent of the population lives in urban areas, with 60 per cent residing in informal settlements. This is projected to rise to 35 per cent by 2030, making the urban population 32.24 million.

The IEA notes that rapid urban growth increases energy and housing demand, straining water, electricity, and waste management infrastructure, exacerbating congestion, and driving up emissions from industry and transport.

“It also accelerates deforestation and heightens vulnerability to climate risks, leading to displacements, particularly among vulnerable communities,” IEA.