Nairobi County issue new land rates fees effective January 2026
Land owners in Nairobi City County will be paying new land rates beginning January next year.
The County Executive Committee Member for Built Environment and Urban Planning Patrick Mbogo made the announcement saying the revised charges are per the National Rating Act, 2024.
Mbogo stated that the new rates will apply to both flat rate zones and properties valued through the 2019 Draft Valuation Roll.
In the notice Mbogo outlined that the land rates for properties within flat rate zones will range from Sh2,560 for land not exceeding 0.1 hectares to Sh4,800 for land larger than 0.4 hectares per year.
For properties covered under private or public valuation, residential, commercial, and agricultural plots will be charged at 0.115 per cent of their unimproved site value (USV) per year.
The CEC explained that the new rates will be implemented with certain conditions.
“New rates lower than the 2022 rates per year shall pay 2022 rates, while those more than double the 2022 rates shall pay double the 2022 rates,” he noted in the announcement.
However, property owners who had lodged objections to the 2019 Draft Valuation Roll will continue paying the old rates until their cases are resolved by the Valuation Board.
Landowners whose parcels were not included or valued in the draft roll have been advised to contact the Chief Valuer at City Hall for assistance.
The notice also directed sectional title holders to open individual land rate accounts as part of the county’s efforts to enhance compliance and accuracy in rate collection.
The notice comes even as city lawyer Shadrack Wambui moved to court this week seeking conservatory orders to suspend the National Rating Act, 2024, which allow counties to auction private property over unpaid rates without seeking court approval arguing that the provisions violate property rights and due process.
Specifically targeting Sections 19(3)(d) and 19(4) of the Act, which he says empower counties to sell property administratively without court oversight, procedural safeguards, or national standards Wambui has contended that it contravenes Article 40 on the protection of property rights and undermines the integrity of due process.
“The administrative auction of private property without judicial sanction poses an imminent risk of irreparable harm to landowners. Once auctioned, such property cannot be recovered, rendering this petition nugatory,” he stated in his affidavit.
He has argued that the law was enacted without meaningful public participation or consultation with the Commission on Revenue Allocation, in breach of Article 205 of the Constitution, making it unconstitutional.
He warned that enforcing the contested provisions could result in widespread property rights violations, threatening livelihoods and ancestral heritage.
