The county government of Nairobi is considering withdrawing critical services to parts of the city in its attempt to push landlords to settle their land rates, an official has said.
At the same time, the government is considering forcing tenants to start paying their rent directly to City Hall, as the county's way of recovering land rate arrears owed by landlords, according to Charles Kerich, the County Executive for Finance and Planning.
That's not all, as the county has hinted at repossessing prime buildings and land that owe the county, empowered by the National Rating Act 2024.
Kerich said the county government has been pushed to the point that it has no option but to begin taking radical measures to raise revenue collections.
“We will tell tenants to begin paying their rent directly to us,” Kerich said during an interview with Radio Citizen on Thursday.
When asked about a possible conflict between landlords and tenants if the county takes money meant for landlords, Kerich said the county will act firmly.
He warned that landlords who fail to pay their debts could lose key services such as waste collection, water and sewerage, all of which would directly affect tenants. For many Nairobi residents, water is already a major problem, and this move would only make matters worse.
Kerich further said the county has no choice but to put the listed properties up for auction. This decision is likely to incite conflict among the more than 1,000 defaulters.
“You know that land is on a lease. And that lease is, say, 99 years. That lease can be cancelled,” Kerich asserted.
The county has already filed a case with the Environment and Land Court (ELC) to recover billions of shillings in unpaid rates by pursuing defaulters through alternative means.
Governor Johnson Sakaja’s team is chasing Ksh10 billion owed to City Hall. According to Kerich, the county has decided to apprehend 200 properties seeking permission to auction the properties for people to learn.
“We have decided to try and catch 200 properties and go to court to seek orders to auction the properties. We will put the auction in public so that someone can see their title being auctioned off,” Kerich has said.
Already, some buildings in the capital have been clamped, with the county now saying it will double down on the crackdown in the two-month operation.
"This is the third week of the operation, and we are continuing with the crackdown. We have compiled a list of properties that have been clamped, and the owners are still unwilling to pay. We are now seeking court intervention to auction these properties to the highest bidders," Kerich said.
Kerich insists, "If everyone paid what they owe, we'd have enough money to fix roads, stock hospitals with medicine, and provide water to all estates. We need fairness from residents and accountability from the county as well."
