Nairobi County is planning to raise an additional Sh5 billion in land rates through a fresh crackdown targeting properties developed on public land, roads, rail corridors and other reserved spaces across the city.

This follows the Nairobi County Assembly’s approval of the Nairobi City County Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Bill, 2025, which aims to document and map properties to determine accurate rate charges.

The Bill, which awaits Governor Johnson Sakaja’s signature, is designed to bring more landowners and developers into the county’s valuation roll while giving the county a chance to regularise unapproved developments that meet planning standards.

Urban Planning Chief Officer Patrick Onalo said the operation will focus on areas with large numbers of informal and unapproved developments, including Kasarani, Utawala, Mwiki, Embakasi, Roysambu, Pipeline, and several parts of Eastlands.

According to Onalo, many of the targeted parcels were originally owned by land-buying companies or were public land later occupied by squatters, with ownership often challenged in court.

“All those areas constitute almost two million city residents who live there, so with this bill, we can bring the owners and developers on board so that they can get approval for the land they subdivided,” Onalo said.

He noted that while most of the property owners have obtained titles, they are now expected to submit building plans and development proposals for inclusion in the valuation roll. The county’s planning department will carry out a special census to assess all developments in the affected areas.

However, the regularisation will not apply to structures built on public land or spaces reserved for roads, railway, communication infrastructure, and other civic uses. “We now want them to submit their building proposals so that we can include in the valuation roll,” Onalo added.

Buildings constructed on forested land, riverbanks, and riparian zones as defined by the Environmental Management and Coordination Act will also not be regularised. Such land will be repossessed and restored for its original purpose.

Once the Bill becomes law, the county will set up an Advisory Committee and a Regularisation Technical Committee to oversee the process. Property owners will then be notified and expected to submit their applications for regularisation within the timelines provided.