• In March, it was revealed that 17,000 tenants in county houses owed City Hall Sh224 million.
• New system will include signing a two-year contract.
Image: FILE
Tenants in county houses will be signing a two-year lease to prevent accumulation of rent arrears, City Hall says.
The new system seeks to promote compliance in terms of payment.
Nairobi City county has rent arrears of over Sh 127 million.
County executive for Lands, Urban planning and Housing Charles Kerich said under the new system, once a tenant pays rent on time the contract will be automatically renewed.
“Part of the problem is that we have been using a system in which tenants receive a card from the county to indicate their tenancy,” Kerich told the Star yesterday.
“As a result, some for the tenants end up staying with card a long period of time, thinking they have automatically become tenants to the houses."
Kerich said as of May 1 (today), the county expects to receive 100 per cent compliance because Governor Mike Sonko waived tenants' arrears.
“The governor has power to give waivers and he has done it strategically. It is the same way he can give waivers for land rates,” he said.
However, henceforth Kerich said the county will be strict with tenants who fail to pay because they are taking the county for granted.
Some of the county housing estates are under the urban renewal and housing project like Old Ngara and Pangani.
Poor compliance and arrears are the long term challenges the county faces.
In March, it was revealed that 17,000 tenants in county houses owe City Hall Sh224 million in rent arrears.
The tenants have defaulted for over five years.
As of that time the county had collected Sh390 million against a target of Sh615 million this financial year.
Tenants from Maringo and Woodley estates were mentioned as the biggest defaulters.
The Urban, Housing and Planning director Marion Rono said court cases, political interference and failure by tenants to honour debts had hurt revenue collection.
She said tenants in Pangani, Woodley and old and new Ngara estates had taken City Hall to court after it doubled monthly rent to Sh8,000.
“Tenants have refused to pay the new rent. This court case has stalled the payment process,” Rono said.
The Nairobi County Assembly Budget and Appropriations committee had faulted lack of reconciliation of payment records.
There was delayed remittance of Sh89 million which tenants pay through JamboPay.