- This was revealed by Housing PS Charles Hinga to his Treasury counterpart, Chris Kiptoo in a letter dated September 28, 2023.
- The new move will mostly affect civil servants who rent houses run by various government institutions and agencies.
Image: COURTESY
The Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development has issued a notice to increase monthly rent on all government residential houses.
The new rates are expected to take effect from November 1, 2023.
This was revealed by Housing PS Charles Hinga to his Treasury counterpart, Chris Kiptoo in a letter dated September 28, 2023.
The letter which emerged on Tuesday was a followup on earlier propositions made by the State Department in 2021.
According to PS Hinga, the 2021 notice for the intended increase was issued, since the figure had stagnated for nearly 20 years.
“It was noted then, that the rent rates have stagnated since 2001 for most Government Housing, therefore it remains an avenue that can increase Appropriation In Aid (AIA) for the State Department in line with the observations made in the meeting held on September 22, 2023, with you on enhancing AIA for the State Department, " reads the letter.
The new move will mostly affect civil servants who rent houses run by various government institutions and agencies.
Normally, government housing offers a reprieve to government workers as the rent charged is usually lower compared to privately owned houses
The move also comes at a time when Kenyans have started paying for housing funds where the government seeks to raise funds to undertake affordable housing projects across the country.
The Affordable and Social Housing Agenda was among the key pillars in President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance manifesto.
Billed as a programme that will solve the country's housing crisis while providing jobs to about a million people a year, President Ruto has marketed the idea as a do-or-die proposition.
The housing pillar of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) not only aims to improve the quality of life for people but also serves as an economic stimulus, promoting enterprise growth and job creation.
In the 2023-24 financial year, the government allocated Sh35.2 billion towards the Housing program.
The government has also mobilised resources to support the construction of affordable housing units and social housing units.
As part of the housing budget, Sh3.2 billion to go towards the affordable housing programme.
The overall target by the President is to construct 200,000 affordable housing units annually which will create between 600,000 and one million jobs each year.
Looking down on his one year in office, Ruto has only managed to initiate the construction of at least 40,000 units, creating a deficit of 160,000 units.