The Nairobi County Government has launched a major crackdown
to recover rent arrears from tenants living in county-owned housing, some of
whom have reportedly gone years without making any payments.
Speaking during the launch of the operation, Nairobi Housing
Chief Officer Lydia Mathia expressed alarm over the scale of default, disclosing
that tenants in key estates such as Woodley, Kariokor, Uhuru, Ngara, and
Harambee collectively owe the county an estimated Sh200 million.
“It is disturbing that some tenants are paying as little as
Sh11,000 to Sh17,000 for two-bedroom houses with compounds in areas where
similar properties fetch over Sh50,000 — yet they still refuse to pay even that
reduced amount,” Mathia said.
“Meanwhile, they expect the county to continue providing
services like garbage collection and water.”
Mathia confirmed that the county has deployed officers
across the affected estates to enforce rent collection.
“We have already dispatched our officers and will ensure
that every shilling owed is recovered. We urge residents to understand that the
government runs on taxes and service payments. When people default, it directly
affects the county’s ability to deliver services,” she added.
She emphasised that the county would not back down.
“We shall not allow this to continue,” she warned.
“To those who are not paying — we are coming to collect
without fail.”
In parallel, Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson reaffirmed his
commitment to the county’s urban renewal program, which targets 13 estates for
redevelopment.
Noting that many of the current estates were constructed
decades ago, when Nairobi’s population was around 2 million.
Today, that number has surged to over 7 million, placing
tremendous strain on the city’s infrastructure.
Governor Sakaja cited ongoing redevelopment efforts in
Woodley Estate, where residents from 43 units have been compensated Sh900,000
each and issued allotment letters to facilitate the construction of 1,975
modern housing units.
He assured them they would each receive a new unit once the
project is completed.
