Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has raised concerns over the poor land rates payment record in the city.
Sakaja warned that the county government’s ability to deliver basic services is being hurt by the low level of compliance, pointing out that this small fraction of compliant landowners is unfairly shouldering the financial burden of running the county.
While speaking during an interview on a local TV station on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja disclosed that out of the 250,000 registered land parcels in the city, only 50,000 landowners are actively paying land rates.
“The biggest revenue earner in a city is property taxes. In Nairobi, we have 250,000 pieces of land, but only 50,000 landowners are paying land rates, so the burden falls on this small group. That is not sustainable,” the county boss noted.
According to the governor, property taxes are the city’s biggest source of revenue, and without widespread compliance, service delivery will continue to suffer. He stressed that the current situation is not sustainable and called on all landowners to play their part.
To encourage more people to come forward, Sakaja announced that the county has extended the land rates waiver until April 30. This gives defaulters more time to pay their dues without facing penalties or interest.
Now that the county has completed its land database and has clear records of all 250,000 parcels, Sakaja said the next step is enforcement. He noted that the law allows the county to clamp buildings that have unpaid land rates, although he hopes it will not come to that.
“We have extended the waiver to 30th April this month,” he said. “Now that we have complete data on the 250,000 pieces of land, it’s time to collect what is due so that we can deliver services as a county. We’ve given enough time, going forward, we shall enforce,” Sakaja stated.
He urged Nairobi landowners to take responsibility and not wait for the county to act harshly. He reminded them that the county has already been lenient, but the time for action has come.
Buildings can be clamped. It is in the law. We would not want to get there. Let’s all take charge—we’ve given enough time to pay. Let’s not leave just a small percentage of landowners carrying the heavy luggage of land rates,” Sakaja stated.
Auction
In June 2024, the Nairobi County Government approved tough measures to recover unpaid land rates. In a meeting chaired by Sakaja, it was resolved that properties with outstanding land rates will be auctioned.
He mentioned that caveats will be placed on indebted properties to prevent transactions such as subdivision, amalgamation, or transfer.
The county boss also said Tenants of defaulting rental properties must pay rent directly to the county until the debts are cleared.
These actions follow the end of a second waiver period, where defaulters were required to clear the principal amount to avoid penalties. A list of defaulters was published, giving them a one-month grace period.