Relief for tenants and property owners in Nairobi as Governor Johnson Sakaja announced has announced a one-month extension to the penalty waiver on land rates.
This move, aimed at improving compliance and increasing the county's revenue, is a significant step for the local government.
In a statement on Thursday, Governor Sakaja said that the deadline for the waiver has been extended to January 31, 2024, a push from the original deadline of December 31, 2023.
"Enjoy the 100 per cent waiver and regularize the status of your property. Remember, enforcement on defaults will start in February," Sakaja added.
The county chief advised all landlords to take advantage of the waiver which was aimed at allowing landowners and building managers ample time to pay any outstanding penalty.
In line with Nairobi County's no-cash policy, he recommended that payments be made through the county officials' bank accounts or via the USSD code, *647#.
Over the years, the county government has been giving rent waivers to those residing in county government houses.
The county has 17,000 houses in Maringo, Uhuru, Kaloleni, Jericho, Buruburu, Kariobangi South, Ziwani and Jerusalem where tenants pay between Sh2,000 and Sh20,000 monthly rent depending on the location.
It has houses in other parts of the city.
Section 7 of the Nairobi City County Waiver Administration Act, 2013 says every waiver shall be reported to the County Assembly and published in the gazette notice not more than 14 days after it is granted.
It has been reported that Nairobi keeps losing revenue due to the aforesaid failure to pay rates.
Nairobi's own source revenue is normally generated by revenue streams.
The six key own-source revenue streams include parking fees, rates, single business permits, house rents, building permits and, billboards and adverts accounting to close to 80 per cent of the county’s annual own-source revenue.
Land rates are the top own-source revenue earner in Nairobi accounting for about 25 per cent of revenue collected by the county government.
