President William Ruto’s administration will receive Ksh10 billion monthly from the Housing Levy after the Head of State assented to the Affordable Housing Bill on Tuesday, March 19.
This was communicated by Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga on Wednesday evening during an interview on Citizen TV.
Hinga remarked that this was Ksh4 billion more than the previous deductions which were declared unlawful by the courts in January 2024.
“Before the court stopped it, we had peaked at Ksh5 billion a month. Then there was a government contribution of about Ksh1 billion making it between Ksh6 billion to Ksh6.5 billion a month,” Hinga explained.
“Going forward, we are estimating we will be collecting anywhere between Ksh9 billion and Ksh10 billion a month.”
Hinga explained that the Ksh4 billion increase was due to the inclusion of non-salaried Kenyans in payment of the Levy.
While salaried Kenyans will have 1.5 per cent of their salary go towards the Housing Levy, Kenyans who earn through partnership and consultancy fees will have a 1.5 per cent deduction imposed on their gross income.
Kenyans working in the informal sector will on the other hand have the Housing Levy deducted from the already existing Turnover Tax (TOT).
The PS explained that for all categories of Kenyans, the deductions were starting with immediate effect and must be captured in the March 2024, earnings.
For employers, submission of their deductions must be availed to the Kenya Revenue Authority by April 9.
While assenting to the Bill, President William Ruto announced that it would provide employment to thousands of Kenyans who would work in the housing units.
Additionally, with 200,000 housing units built every year, Ruto envisions making the housing sector a key contributor to the Kenyan economy.
“Today the housing market in the US is greater than their stock exchange market. China is a 19 trillion dollar economy, and 40 per cent of that economy is housing,” Hinga explained Ruto’s vision.
