City Hall/ FILE
City Hall has rolled out a festive land rates waiver aimed
at encouraging landowners to pay up to shore revenues for better services to
residents.
The county government had also issued a warning that strict enforcement and prosecutions under the National Rating Act will follow once the window closes.
City Hall says just about a quarter of the capital’s registered land parcels are compliant, a gap officials blame for chronic shortfalls in funding roads, waste management, health services and public lighting.
The one-off waiver, running from December 15 to December 31, 2025, removes 100 per cent of accumulated interest and penalties for landowners who clear their arrears within the period, offering what authorities describe as a final soft landing before the law takes full effect.
Receiver of Revenue Tiras Njoroge said the incentive is meant to ease pressure on ratepayers during the festive season while shoring up the county’s own-source revenue.
"This is an opportunity to correct any outstanding land rates. Take advantage of the waiver, which wipes out all interest and penalties. From January 1, it will not be business as usual, any unpaid amount will be treated as default,” he said.
Earlier, Governor Sakaja Johnson revealed that out of 250,000 registered land parcels in Nairobi, only about 50,000 are paying land rates.
“The biggest revenue earner in a city is property taxes. Having only a quarter of landowners paying is not sustainable,” he said, linking poor compliance directly to stalled service delivery.
Sakaja noted that with complete data now available for all parcels, enforcement will intensify after the waiver. "We have given enough time. Going forward, we shall enforce so that we can deliver services to residents,” he said, adding that legal measures including clamping of buildings remain an option for persistent defaulters.
Ratepayers can access their bills through nairobiservices.go.ke or visit City Hall Annexe and subcounty offices, with phone and email support available.
Njoroge reiterated that once the waiver lapses, defaulters will be required to pay the full principal alongside reinstated interest and penalties.
City Hall is urging landowners to seize the waiver, insisting that improved compliance is key to sustainable revenue and better services across the capital.
According to official reports, the amount in unpaid land rates tells of the crisis in the city's governance.
The principal amount of land rates owed to Nairobi City Hall stands at Sh55.2 billion. What's worse, the figure highlighted in the Controller of Budget report for the period to September 2025, is not static.
It grows steadily with each passing quarter, as evidenced by an additional Sh1.29 billion that went unpaid in just the three-month period leading up to that date.
The roots of this massive debt lie in a culture of widespread non-compliance, where only a fraction of property owners fulfill their civic duty.
City officials consistently report that 50,000 out of 250,000 registered land parcels in the capital are compliant with their rates payments.
This means 80 per cent of property owners are in default. Behind the numbers is a county starved of the resources needed for roads, waste collection, street lighting and public health services.
The problem is historical with the county having previously been forced to write off Sh1.45 trillion in other land rate arrears from its financial records.
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