Nairobi launches crackdown on unapproved buildings with regularisation drive
Chief Officer for Urban Development and Planning, Patrick Analo, said the initiative is designed to bring order to the city’s real estate sector by approving only structures that meet legal and technical requirements.
Thousands of unapproved buildings in Nairobi are under scrutiny as the county government begins a regularisation exercise aimed at ensuring all developments meet minimum safety and planning standards.
In a public notice, the County Executive Committee Member for Built Environment and Urban Planning invited developers, property owners, land-buying companies, and investors with unauthorised projects to apply for regularisation under the Nairobi City County Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Act, 2025.
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Chief Officer for Urban Development and Planning, Patrick Analo, said the initiative is designed to bring order to the city’s real estate sector by approving only structures that meet legal and technical requirements.
“The initiative seeks to grant approvals to buildings and structures erected without permits but which meet minimum planning and safety standards,” Analo said.
“To ensure transparency, the county government will publish notices of unauthorised developments in at least two national newspapers. The regularisation covers subdivisions, change of use, extensions, architectural plans, structural works, billboards, LEDs, wall wraps and informal settlements on private land.”
He added that Nairobi is also keen to resolve long-standing land ownership and planning disputes that have complicated development in several neighbourhoods.
“Some of these matters went to court, and rulings were made. We are now giving property owners a chance to regularise before enforcement begins,” Analo said.
He cited the Kirima land case involving the family of the late businessman Gerishon Kirima and thousands of settlers as an example of the legal disputes City Hall is determined to settle.
City Hall warned that projects that fail to comply will face enforcement under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019. The Act allows the county to issue enforcement notices stopping further construction or use of unlawful developments, impose penalties or fines, prosecute offenders, or order demolition, alteration or removal of structures at the developer’s cost.
The most affected areas include Ruai, Kasarani, Mwiki, Roysambu and several parts of Embakasi, where disputes have involved land-buying companies, squatters and government allocations.
To oversee the process, Nairobi has established a Regularisation Advisory Committee comprising technical experts, including planners, surveyors, engineers, architects and officials from the lands, environment and public health departments, that will review all applications.
All applications must be submitted through registered professionals such as physical planners, architects, structural engineers and environmental experts via the Nairobi Planning and Development Management System (NPDMS).
For Nairobi residents, the exercise is a double-edged sword. Property owners now have a lifeline to legalise their investments, while tenants face the risk of displacement should landlords fail to comply and enforcement measures, including demolitions, take effect.
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