Nairobi County has stepped up efforts to recover billions tied up in unpaid land rates, unveiling six debt recovery firms to pursue property owners whose accounts have remained unsettled for more than three years. The county says the exercise has taken effect immediately and warns that anyone who ignores the demand could face legal recovery measures, including the sale of attached property.
The Nairobi City County Revenue Authority (NRA) said the appointed firms will collect all outstanding land rates together with the penalties and interest that have accumulated over the years.
According to the authority, the exercise targets every property owner whose land rates have remained unpaid beyond the three-year period.
“Take notice that the NRA has, with immediate effect, engaged the debt recovery firms listed below to recover all outstanding land rates that have remained unpaid for a period exceeding three (3) years, together with all accrued penalties and interest,” Tiras Njoroge, Receiver of Revenue at the Nairobi City County Government, said.
The authority warned that failure to clear the arrears could attract enforcement measures allowed under the National Rating Act 2024. These include attachment and auction of property, listing with credit reference bureaus and any other lawful recovery action.
To carry out the exercise, the county has allocated different parts of Nairobi to the six firms.
Siuma Auctioneers will operate in Westlands, Dagoretti South and Dagoretti North.
Prysis Solutions Limited has been assigned Roysambu, Kasarani and Ruaraka, while Jephys Auctioneers will cover Starehe, Kamukunji and Mathare.
Boresha Credit Services Limited will be responsible for Embakasi South, Embakasi East and Makadara.
Quest Holdings Limited has been allocated Embakasi North, Embakasi West and Embakasi Central, while AFS Holdings Limited will oversee Kibra and Lang'ata.
The county has urged all affected property owners to clear their outstanding balances before recovery measures begin.
“Defaulters are strongly advised to settle their arrears immediately to avoid recovery action. All payments must be made through only the authorised NRA,” reads the notice.
Residents have also been asked to cooperate with the appointed recovery agents as they carry out the assignment.
“Members of the public are advised to accord the appointed agents full cooperation in the execution of this duty,” it said.
The recovery campaign comes as the county intensifies efforts to increase its own-source revenue through better collection of property rates.
Governor Johnson Sakaja recently said Nairobi is targeting Sh60 billion in property rates by December this year, describing it as part of a broader plan to strengthen the county's financial position.
He said the county collected a record Sh15.4 billion in own-source revenue during the last financial year, making it the highest amount ever raised by any county government.
“In this financial year, we collected Sh15.4 billion. It is a record. No county has gone above Sh15 billion,” Sakaja said while appearing before the Senate Committee on National Security.
The governor said own-source revenue has grown from Sh8 billion when he took office to Sh15.4 billion, a 92.5 per cent increase.
Even with about Sh20 billion received every year from the national government, Sakaja said the county still does not have enough money to meet all its obligations.
He added that many of the development projects currently underway are being financed using revenue collected by the county, making payment of land rates an important source of funding.