State drafts bill to expedite construction of affordable houses

The government is drafting a bill that will compel developers to designate 30 per cent of houses they construct for the affordable housing project that targets half a million housing units by the year 2022.

Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga says this is one way of expediting construction of houses.

Kenya faces a housing deficit of 1.85 million units according to statistics generated from the Housing Ministry.

To address this, the Affordable Housing Program is seeking to mobilize synergies among government agencies, developers, and counties to ensure availability of funds, land, labour and infrastructure

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The government is also confident that the Housing Fund Levy that was stopped by the courts would soon be gazetted after public participation.

The government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 24 counties that have committed to construct 2,000 housing units annually. So far, at least five counties have earmarked land for the project.

The affordable housing agenda is also expected to boost the country’s economy from the current 6 per cent to 14 per cent by the year 2022.

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