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Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is targeting landlords in Nairobi in an intensified hunt for rental income tax and revenue mobilisation.

The authority is set to start collecting data on rental property in Nairobi and surrounding areas from today.

It said the exercise targeting rental properties within Nairobi City County and the Nairobi Metropolis is part of its tax base expansion programme.

“Kenya Revenue Authority will undertake a data collection exercise on rental properties within Nairobi City County and Nairobi Metropolis as part of its tax base expansion programme from Wednesday 19th October 2022,” the taxman said in a notice yesterday. Poor record-keeping by the State Department of Housing and Urban Development is estimated to cost the government up to Sh651.1 million annually in revenue.

Rent collection

Details from the latest audit report for ministries, State departments and agencies show the annual rent collection for government houses has the potential to collect about Sh127 million every month or Sh1.5 billion every year. However, figures show that the government is only able to collect Sh873.4 million with the State Department managing 56,892 houses for rent for the government nationally.

Failure to maintain a comprehensive register has made it difficult to keep track of government houses and tenants in relation to occupancy, vacancy of the houses, houses with rent arrears and their respective maintenance costs.