•Many landowners face difficulties especially when KRA comes collecting rates and ownership documents are required.
•Nairobi keeps losing revenue due to the aforesaid failure to pay rates owing to the demands by KRA.
Image: EZEKIEL AMINGA
MCAs want mechanisms created to facilitate payment of rates for disputed lands.
This follows concerns by the legislators that many parcels of land within Nairobi county do not have titles or other final ownership documents.
In a notice of motion, Majority Whip (Mihang'o ward rep) Paul Kados said many pieces of land have ownership disputes, some pending in the courts and other dispute resolutions tribunals and institutions which take years to be resolved.
“Recognising many of such parcels of land have been developed with the owners of such land willing to pay land rates, the law requires rates to be paid by whoever is claiming ownership of any such property,” he said.
Kados said many landowners face difficulties especially when KRA comes collecting rates and ownership documents are required.
The county through the Deed of Transfer of Functions engaged the services of the Kenya Revenue Authority to collect rates, by which the KRA has required ownership, identity documents and KRA Pin Certificates before permitting payment of rates.
“Demand for these documents has seen many landholders remain unable to provide the documents hence are barred from paying rates, though these parties remain willing to pay rates, during the penalty waiver arrangements,” Kados said.
Image: HANDOUT
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.
Nairobi keeps losing revenue due to the aforesaid failure to pay rates owing to the demands by KRA.
In the financial year ended June 30, 2021, City Hall collected Sh2.76 billion from land rates against a target of Sh5 billion.
Land rates are the top own-source revenue earner at City Hall accounting for about 25 per cent of revenue collected by the county government.
However, with the new valuation roll in place, the county government targets to more than double its land rates collection in the last financial year as it looks at collecting about Sh6 billion.
Property owners have been paying their rates at 25 per cent of the Unimproved Site Value with the valuation that was carried out in the 1980s, which City Hall said has seen it lose on the appreciation of plots.
As part of new levies contained in the Nairobi City Finance Bill, 2021, land rates will be charged at 0.115 per cent of current property value, setting the stage for costly levies for property owners in the capital.
“The Assembly is calling upon both the county executive and Nairobi Metropolitan Service to put in place measures to ensure rates are collected from all landholders,” Kados said.
“This includes where only provisional ownership documents are available where ownership disputes are pending in court or other institution.”
Edited by Kiilu Damaris