AAK pushes for public portal to enable owners verify safety of buildings

  Potential home owners will be required to check with county governments on building safety before purchase of houses.

This is according to a proposal by architects, who are advocating for a special portal with a pool of information on ready-made units where home buyers across all the counties will be able to fact check that all details have been articulated, and that there is no “monkey business.”

Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) President Wilson Mugambi said the portal will enable buyers to verify approved plans, professionals involved an

d most importantly, occupational certificates in a move that they expect will streamline an industry that has seen death and property destruction owing to structural deficiencies.

“We are saying that through the portal, buyers should be able to see approved drawings, professionals who are involved, go back and check with their boards that this person is approved, occupation certificate, which is the most important document meaning that the building has been given a permit for people to occupy,” he said.

Mugambi was speaking yesterday when AAK released its report on the status of Kenya’s build environment in 2022.

A 2019 audit by the National Construction Authority (NCA) indicates that there have been over 87 reported cases of collapsed buildings since 2015, resulting in the death of 200 people and more than 1,000 injured from collapse of buildings either under construction (66 per cent) or completed (34 per cent).

Of the 87 buildings, 65 per cent were residential, 25 per cent commercial and 10 per cent mixed-use developments. The Nairobi Metropolitan Region has been the hotspot for these incidents with approximately 13 recorded cases of collapsed buildings in 2022 resulting in 19 deaths.

Project registration

According to the report, in 2022, NCA received a total of 8,154 applications for project registration and approved 4,377. The authority also inspected 26,060 construction projects in this period, while suspending 18,192 others due to non-compliance.

The report also said Covid-19 and inadequate supply of affordable serviced land were some of the challenges that have hindered the success of the affordable housing project. 

Launched under the Big Four agenda, the affordable housing project sought to supply 250,000 units annually, but only was able to deliver under 14,000 units out of the proposed 500,000 units built during the first five years after its launch.