Nairobi City County has launched an aggressive drive to recover Ksh54 billion in unpaid land rates, warning that properties belonging to defaulters could soon face auction.
Governor Johnson Sakaja said nearly 200,000 property owners are yet to clear their arrears, with a significant portion of the debt linked to high-value properties owned by affluent individuals.
He revealed that out of 250,000 land parcels in the capital, only between 50,000 and 60,000 accounts are actively paying rates. The low compliance, Sakaja noted, continues to undermine the county’s own-source revenue (OSR) even as disbursements from the National Treasury remain inconsistent.
“Our biggest challenge lies with those who can afford to pay but choose not to. You’ll soon see us clamping and auctioning property because people must pay for it,” Sakaja said.
The governor also hinted at possible reforms that could shift Nairobi’s rating model from land value-based taxation to one determined by how properties are utilised.
During the year ending June 2025, the county wrote off Ksh1.45 trillion in uncollectable debts after a review of historical arrears, leaving Ksh54 billion as the outstanding amount. City Hall has yet to disclose the criteria used in the massive debt write-off.
The Auditor-General’s data shows that land rates remain Nairobi’s single largest revenue source, contributing Ksh3.25 billion last year. However, their share of total OSR has gradually dropped from 27 per cent to 24 per cent over the past nine years.
Officials project that if all property owners honoured their rate obligations, Nairobi’s total annual revenue, comprising OSR and national allocations, could rise from Ksh36 billion to over Ksh50 billion.
The county’s renewed enforcement campaign will be guided by the National Rating Act, 2024, which empowers devolved units to impose penalties, charge interest, and auction property belonging to persistent defaulters.
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