By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, 30 July 2026 - Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has intensified efforts to recover billions of shillings in unpaid land rates by launching a countywide enforcement campaign targeting property owners who have failed to honour their obligations for several years.
The exercise, which is expected to affect residential, commercial and industrial properties across the capital, comes as the county government seeks to expand its revenue base to finance essential public services such as waste collection, road maintenance, healthcare services and street lighting.
According to City Hall, enforcement officers, together with licensed auctioneers, have already been deployed to identify and take action against chronic defaulters. The county administration says it has exhausted all voluntary compliance measures and now intends to pursue more aggressive collection strategies.
Governor Sakaja has repeatedly expressed concern over low compliance levels despite the rapid growth of Nairobi's real estate sector.
County records indicate that Nairobi has approximately 250,000 registered land parcels, yet only a fraction of these properties consistently remit annual land rates. Officials estimate that fewer than half of registered properties are actively paying their dues, creating a substantial revenue gap.
"We have extended our customer service hours this weekend to give Nairobi residents ample time to settle their land rates and access county services conveniently," Sakaja said earlier while announcing a grace period before the enforcement exercise.
The governor added that land rates remain one of the county's most important sources of revenue and are critical to maintaining public services and infrastructure across the city.
Before launching the crackdown, the county administration offered property owners a three per cent discount on payments made before the March deadline and waived certain penalties and interest charges in an effort to encourage voluntary compliance.
The county also extended working hours at customer service centres to enable more landowners to regularise their accounts. Despite these measures, officials say thousands of property owners failed to take advantage of the incentives.
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County officials have warned that the enforcement exercise could include:
- Issuance of demand notices.
- Property restrictions and legal proceedings.
- The involvement of licensed debt collectors and auctioneers.
- Publication of the names of persistent defaulters.
- Recovery proceedings against properties with substantial arrears.
Receiver of Revenue Tiras Njoroge previously warned that the county's technological systems now allow officers to track payment compliance more accurately, reducing opportunities for tax evasion.
While county officials insist the crackdown is necessary to improve service delivery, critics argue that rising living costs, increasing mortgage obligations and high property management expenses have left many homeowners struggling to keep up with county taxes.
Others have questioned whether the county should focus more attention on improving service delivery before imposing tougher penalties on defaulters.
Nevertheless, City Hall maintains that property owners have a legal obligation to pay land rates and that greater compliance will ultimately translate into better roads, cleaner neighbourhoods, improved health services and enhanced public infrastructure across the capital.
For thousands of Nairobi property owners, the latest announcement signals the end of the grace period and the beginning of a much stricter era of revenue enforcement.