The Affordable Housing project has received the largest share under the housing, urban development and public works sector in the 2026/27 Financial Year, as the government moves to expand access to decent and cost-friendly homes while creating jobs in the construction sector.
The programme, a flagship project of President William Ruto’s administration, has been allocated Sh50.6 billion to support ongoing and new housing developments.
Speaking while presenting the budget in Parliament on Thursday, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said decent housing remains key to social stability and economic growth.
“Decent housing underpins social stability and economic productivity. Our Affordable Housing Programme not only provides safe and affordable homes to Kenyans, but also generates jobs directly in construction and indirectly across building materials and services sectors,” he said.
The government has proposed Sh143.7 billion for the Housing, Urban Development and Public Works sub-sectors to sustain ongoing projects and improve living conditions across the country.
The allocation includes Sh18.6 billion under the Kenya Urban Programme (KenUP), Sh50.6 billion for the construction of Affordable Housing Units, Sh20.9 billion for Social Housing Units, Sh20.2 billion for institutional housing and Sh18.2 billion for critical social and physical infrastructure.
Additional funding includes Sh2.7 billion for the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project Phase II and Sh535 million to support the construction of county headquarters.
According to Mbadi, the investments are expected to improve living conditions, strengthen service delivery and enhance local governance capacity.
To improve safety in the construction sector, the Treasury has also proposed Sh2.4 billion for the regulation and development of the construction industry.
“To protect lives and property through compliance with building codes and standards, I propose Sh2.4 billion for the Regulation and Development of the Construction Industry, thus reinforcing safety, quality and accountability across the sector,” Mbadi said.
He noted that Kenya has continued to apply a zero per cent duty remission on selected inputs used in the manufacture of roofing materials and related industrial products to help lower construction costs and support the delivery of affordable housing under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
He added that the country has also maintained duty protections ranging from 25 per cent to 35 per cent on selected imported construction materials to support local manufacturers producing steel products, aluminium products, pipes, electrical equipment, ceramic tiles and other building materials, while discouraging under-declaration of import values.
The CS emphasised that the government has accelerated the implementation of the Affordable Housing Programme to address the country’s housing deficit, create jobs, stimulate local manufacturing, support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, strengthen county economies and improve the quality of life for Kenyans.
He said a total of 277,281 housing units had either been completed or were under implementation across the country as of May 2026.
He added that demand for homes has continued to grow through the Boma Yangu platform, where more than one million Kenyans have registered interest in home ownership.
“The Programme has also successfully aggregated demand through the Boma Yangu platform, where more than one million Kenyans have registered their interest in home ownership, demonstrating both the scale of housing demand and growing public confidence in the Government’s housing agenda,” Mbadi said.
The government has also packaged 177,686 student beds for development in universities and has begun construction of 22,512 institutional housing units for disciplined forces, teachers, healthcare workers and other public servants.
According to Mbadi, the programme has created more than 640,442 jobs across the housing value chain through construction activities, professional services, manufacturing, logistics and supporting industries.
He added that under the Modern Markets Programme, 476 markets have been packaged for development nationwide, with 354 already under implementation.
Mbadi said this will provide dignified trading spaces and support entrepreneurship.
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