Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) plans to take an inventory of county rental houses and tenants in an effort to enhance revenue collection.

The exercise will be conducted in collaboration with City Hall and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

In a public notice by NMS Director-General Major General Mohamed Badi at the weekend, the exercise is geared towards establishing the number of county-owned houses and identity of tenants.

 “Notice is hereby given that NMS, in conjunction with Nairobi City County Government and Kenya Revenue Authority intend to undertake an exercise to update the inventory of county rental houses and tenants residing in the said houses,” read the notice.

 According to NMS, occupants will be required to provide the original and copies of their national ID cards, rental or tenancy transfer letter, KRA pin, latest payment receipt and other documents.

 The county has 17,000 houses in Maringo, Uhuru, Kaloleni, Jericho, Buruburu, Kariobangi South, Ziwani and Jerusalem estates.

Tenants pay between Sh2,000 to Sh20,000 rent monthly depending on the location. It has houses elsewhere.

 Over the years, tenants have failed to pay rent, which has reduced revenue collection.

Last year, City Hall recorded Sh292.9 million in housing rents against a target of Sh300 million. This was a Sh51 million increase from the previous financial year.

 County officials said rent defaulters were the biggest contributors to dwindling revenue collections.

 Most defaulters were in Maringo and Woodley estates.

The inventory will help NMS identify houses to be pulled down and replaced in Phase II of the Affordable Housing Programme.

Second phase

 In January, NMS announced it will put up 2,000 high-rise rentals and sale units in Eastlands in the second phase of the Nairobi Housing Urban Renewal Programme.

 The public-private partnership project will provide affordable housing with reasonable standards of sanitation.

NMS had identified 10 run-down estates for the project.

They are Bahati, Maringo, Jericho, Lumumba, Bondeni, Ziwani, Embakasi, California, Kariobangi North and Woodley. Many are low-rise buildings on large plots of land.

 The new apartments will consist of six to 16 multi-story buildings with one, two or three bedrooms.

Public participation was held in the 10 estates in February. The Bahati Estate project will have 12,000 high-density buildings of six to 16 floors.