Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Sunday, June 25, gave a 24-hour notice to landlords operating within the county who had defaulted on paying land rates.
Through a public notice, the county directed that it is set to start clamping down on defaulters starting Monday, June 26.
The directive came a day after the expiry of a 14-day legal notice issued by the county government to landlords to clear their outstanding land rates.
The legal notice and impending crackdown were announced by Patrick Analo Kivaga, the Physical Planner who serves as the acting County Secretary and Head of County Public Service.
After the 24-hour notice, Sakaja noted that he would flag and clamp down on non-compliant properties and require their tenants to pay rent directly to Nairobi County Government.
"The payment will continue until all the outstanding arrears are cleared," defaulters were warned.
“There will be the commencement of the legal process to auction the property to recover the outstanding arrears,” Sakaja further warned.
Property owners were urged to take note of the notice and ensure compliance with their properties to avoid embarrassment and loss of property.
Kenyan landlords willing to make payment within the window were advised to use USSD number *647# to be given further prompts.
Alternatively, landlords were told that they could access the amounts due for payment through www.nairobiservices.go.ke
“Property owner may obtain invoices and bank details from City Hall or any of the 17 Sub-County Offices,” the notice read further.
Auctioning of houses by county governments is guaranteed in Section 18 of the Rating Act - Cap 267.
“The rating authority shall be entitled to retain out of the proceeds of any rate levied by to meet liabilities in respect of expenses of any council, the cost of levying and collecting such rate or two and one-half per centum of the given proceeds of that rate, whichever is the lower,” the Law states.
