Nairobi landowners will start paying new rates beginning January 1, 2026, after the county government issued a notice outlining revised charges under the National Rating Act, 2024.
The new rates, announced by County Executive Committee Member for Built Environment and Urban Planning Patrick Mbogo, apply to both flat rate zones and properties valued through the 2019 Draft Valuation Roll.
According to the notice issued on Friday, 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 county 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,” the notice stated.
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.
For further inquiries, the county urged residents to contact its Customer Care Centre through the provided phone numbers or email, or to access their rate invoices online through the Nairobi e-services portal, nairobiservices.go.ke.
Nairobi's own source revenue is normally generated by revenue streams.
The six key own-source revenue streams include parking fees, rates, single business permits, house rents, building permits, and billboards and adverts, accounting for close to 80 per cent of the county’s annual own-source revenue.
Land rates are the top own-source revenue earner in Nairobi, accounting for about 25 per cent of revenue collected by the county government.
