Nairobi County clamps Freemasons’ Hall over Sh19 million land rates

Nairobi County Government has shut down the Grand Lodge of East Africa’s Freemasons’ Hall in the city centre over land rate arrears totaling Sh19 million.

The clampdown is part of a broader operation targeting landowners who have defaulted on payments, and was led by Health CEC Suzanne Silantoi, Chief Officer in the Governor’s Office Priscilla Mahinda, and Chief Officer for Housing, Lydia Mathia.

"This particular premises owes Nairobi County over Sh19 million in land rate arrears," Silantoi said.

 "We will not only be clamping properties belonging to defaulters, but we are also moving to disconnect services such as water and sewer lines where necessary," she added.

County officials stated that the enforcement followed legal procedures, including the issuance of demand notices and public warnings to the property owners.

"Before any clamping is done, we issue demand notices and publish the same in local dailies, instructing landowners to settle outstanding rates. Failure to comply gives us the legal mandate to clamp," Silantoi explained.

Lydia Mathia noted that while enforcement measures may inconvenience tenants, the law allows the county to disconnect services for non-compliance.

"Disconnection of such services is within the law," she said.

"If you can’t pay land rates, how do you expect to benefit from county services? It is unfortunate that tenants may suffer due to their landlords’ negligence."

According to county records, only 50,000 out of about 256,000 land parcels in Nairobi are up to date with their land rate payments, showing a compliance rate of just 20%.

The county says it is pursuing up to Sh10 billion in unpaid land rates.

Property owners who remain in arrears risk having their buildings marked and clamped, with tenants being directed to pay rent directly into the county revenue account until the debts are cleared.