Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has announced that waivers for Nairobi land rates defaulters will be halted, meaning delinquent property owners will no longer receive exemptions and must settle their outstanding land rates in full.
“We gave these guys time, last year we gave waivers, this year there is no waiver, I am sorry,” Sakaja announced.
The governor was speaking on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, during a discussion on Hot 96, where he revealed that he would halt the waivers and take action against land rate defaulters by auctioning their properties.
“We are going to take legal action. The Physical Land Use Planning Act gives us the authority to do that, and when your property is being auctioned, you will care. We will do it through the courts, and we will not be the first ones to do so,” the governor continued.
The governor called on Nairobi residents to be compliant in paying their dues.
According to Sakaja, the burden of paying dues in Nairobi is carried by very few Nairobians. Sakaja revealed that there are 255,000 land parcels in the city but only 50,000 accounts can be traced, leaving 205,000 land parcels missing and unaccounted for.
"There are 255,000 land parcels in the city, only 50,000 accounts, the rest are nowhere to be found. So 50,000 accounts are people paying rates on behalf of everyone else, land rates are the biggest source of revenue for Nairobi, " Sakaja said.
While the county will halt the waivers, the governor revealed that the county will offer a 5 per cent discount to all landowners who pay the rates before March.
The governor explained that while Nairobians are demanding developments, they can only be actualised if the county generates revenue. However, inconsistencies in land rates are impeding the development projects.
“Nairobians want schools now, roads, medicine in hospitals, we are feeding school children, so if we don’t do this, we will not be able to fulfil these development projects,” the county boss maintained.
As it stands, the county has raised Ksh3 billion from land rates in the current financial year, out of the Ksh7 billion target needed to be raised by the end of the 2023/24 financial year.
Meanwhile, the governor reaffirmed the county's commitment to completing key stadium projects across the city, Sakaja promised that the county will transform local economies and provide much-needed recreational spaces for the youth.
