Nairobi’s New Development Control Policy 2026: What It Means for Property Owners & Buyers

Nairobi County has just gazetted a significant change to how development works in the city, and if you own property, are buying off-plan, or manage a rental portfolio here, it’s worth understanding properly rather than skimming the headline. The short version: developers now carry more direct responsibility for the public infrastructure their projects affect, the county has introduced new fees to fund that infrastructure, and the entire zoning system that determines what can be built where has been rewritten. Here’s what’s actually in it, the wider context it sits within, and what it means practically for the different people this touches.

The Policy That’s Changing Everything: Development Control Policy 2026

Nairobi City County has officially gazetted the Development Control Policy 2026, and county officials are framing it as a genuinely significant milestone in Governor Johnson Sakaja’s effort to bring order to the capital’s built environment. <cite index=”39-1″>The policy is intended to replace fragmented, inconsistent planning approaches with a single, predictable development framework covering zoning, building height limits, density controls, environmental safeguards, and infrastructure capacity together.</cite>

The reasoning behind it is one that urban planners have voiced for years. <cite index=”40-1″>Inconsistent development controls have long been blamed for overcrowding, strained infrastructure, incompatible land uses, and the loss of public open space across several parts of Nairobi</cite>, and the county is positioning this policy as the corrective response — one meant to <cite index=”40-1″>strengthen compliance, improve enforcement, and give both residents and investors more certainty about what can actually be built.</cite>

It’s also explicitly connected to the county’s wider capital works programme. <cite index=”40-1″>The policy complements the Sakaja administration’s broader urban transformation agenda, which includes ongoing investment in roads, sewerage expansion, drainage, and affordable housing</cite> — the same infrastructure push that’s brought road rehabilitation projects to neighbourhoods like Kilimani over the past year.

A Completely New Zoning Structure

This is the part that hasn’t had much coverage yet, and it matters more than the fee changes for anyone planning a development. The policy doesn’t just add new charges — it replaces the zoning system itself.

<cite index=”48-1″>The new framework replaces the development zones previously established under the 2004/2006 planning ordinances</cite>, consolidating them into 15 Development Control Zones, each carrying its own density parameters aligned with the city’s long-term master plan (NIUPLAN). Within these zones, the policy sets out maximum building heights and permitted floor counts, determined by a combination of location, plot size, and other zone-specific factors, rather than the older, less consistent case-by-case approach.

One detail worth flagging for anyone evaluating a site: the new framework specifically prioritises Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) — compact, mixed-use developments concentrated within 800 metres of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors. If a plot sits within that radius, it may be eligible for different density allowances than an identical plot further away, which is a meaningful factor in site selection and feasibility going forward.

Infrastructure Costs: Repair, Levy, and the New Impact Fee

Alongside the rezoning, the policy introduces a set of direct financial and legal obligations tied to infrastructure.

Developers must repair infrastructure they damage during construction. Where a build damages roads, drainage, or other public infrastructure, restoration must be approved by the County Engineer responsible for roads, and contractors must maintain that infrastructure throughout construction. The policy states plainly that developers must restore infrastructure to its original condition to the Engineer’s satisfaction, and — critically — the county will not issue an occupation certificate until that restoration is complete. In practice, that means a finished building can be legally unoccupiable if the surrounding roads haven’t been fixed.

A new Infrastructure Levy applies to development applications. This levy funds infrastructure projects undertaken jointly with agencies including the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).

A Development Impact Fee (DIF) is now payable at the building permit stage. It’s a one-time charge, calculated based on a development’s floor area and location, designed to offset the pressure a new project places on roads, drainage, and other utilities. Money collected through the DIF flows into a dedicated fund — the Nairobi Urban Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund (NUIRF) — which the policy reserves exclusively for infrastructure development and maintenance, rather than general county spending.

Land surrender rules have changed for road expansion corridors. Previously, land surrender in areas earmarked for future road widening was typically calculated as a fixed percentage of a property’s size. Under the new policy, it’s based instead on the population a development is projected to generate — meaning a taller, denser building could be required to surrender significantly more land than a smaller building on an identical plot. The county has stated its intention to pursue road expansion and widening in collaboration with KURA, Kenya Railways, and other intergovernmental agencies to improve vehicular movement, non-motorised transport, and service access.

The Bigger Regulatory Picture: This Isn’t an Isolated Change

If this feels like the latest in a string of Sakaja administration property rules over the past year, that’s because it is. Understanding the sequence helps explain why the county is tightening enforcement now, and what’s likely coming next.

• October 2025: The county issued a regularisation directive under the newly enacted Nairobi City County Regularization of Unauthorized Development Act, 2025, requiring anyone with unauthorised structures to apply through the county’s online planning portal.
• November 2025: The county cabinet approved detailed regulations operationalising that Act, setting out formal procedures for applications, technical review, and enforcement.
• December 2025: A six-month amnesty window opened, giving developers, property owners, and occupiers a one-time opportunity to bring unauthorised developments into compliance without penalty — with the county warning that a citywide enforcement crackdown would follow once the window closed.
• January 2026: New, higher land rates took effect under the National Rating Act, 2024, with sectional title holders now required to open individual rates accounts.
• 2025–2030 tariff framework: The county introduced a broader pricing policy linking fees and charges for services (from parking to housing) directly to the actual cost of delivering them, calculated from the previous three years of data and subject to periodic review.
• July 2026: The Development Control Policy 2026 — covering zoning, density, and the new infrastructure fees described above — was officially gazetted and took immediate effect.

Taken together, this is a county government moving methodically toward tighter, more revenue-linked enforcement of how property is built, held, and regularised in Nairobi. Anyone with an unauthorised structure, an ambiguous zoning position, or a development still moving through approval should treat this as a pattern that’s likely to continue, not a one-off.

What This Means If You’re Buying Off-Plan

This is the part most coverage of this story misses. Infrastructure levies, development impact fees, and mandatory road restoration all add real cost to a project, and developers don’t tend to absorb costs like this quietly — they price them in, whether immediately or as new projects move through approval under the revised framework.

If you’re evaluating an off-plan development right now, it’s worth asking directly:

• Has this project’s building permit already been issued, or will it need approval under the new Development Control Policy 2026 framework?
• Does the plot sit within one of the 15 new Development Control Zones’ TOD radius, and if so, has the developer confirmed the permitted density and height for that specific zone?
• Is the quoted price accounting for the new Infrastructure Levy and Development Impact Fee?
• For larger or denser developments, has population-based land surrender been factored into the plot’s usable footprint and shared amenity space?

None of this is a reason to avoid off-plan buying — but it’s a reason to ask sharper, more specific questions than you might have a year ago, and to treat a developer’s vague or confident-sounding non-answer as worth following up on rather than reassuring.

What This Means If You’re a Landlord

If you’re holding existing rental property, two things are worth acting on. First, if you have any unauthorised structures or additions, the regularisation amnesty window that opened in December 2025 was time-limited — if you haven’t already applied, it’s worth confirming your current status before the county’s promised enforcement crackdown reaches your area. Second, if you’re planning any construction or major renovation, the road-restoration requirement is now a direct, enforceable obligation: any damage to surrounding infrastructure during that work must be repaired before you can legally occupy or let out the finished space, so budget for that cost upfront rather than as an afterthought.

What This Means If You’re Developing

For developers and larger landowners, two changes deserve particular attention at the concept stage, before a design is finalised. The population-based land surrender formula means a denser project — the kind increasingly common across Kilimani, Westlands, and similar high-rise submarkets — could be required to give up more land for future road expansion than the old fixed-percentage rule would have demanded, with direct implications for site planning and unit yield. And the new TOD-focused zoning means proximity to a BRT corridor is no longer just a lifestyle selling point — it may now genuinely change what density you’re permitted to build.

FAQ

What is the Nairobi Development Control Policy 2026? A comprehensive planning framework gazetted by Nairobi County, replacing the zoning system used since 2004/2006 with 15 new Development Control Zones, alongside new infrastructure levies and fees for developers.

What is the Development Impact Fee (DIF)? A one-time charge payable at the building permit stage, calculated on a development’s floor area and location, intended to offset the infrastructure pressure the project creates. Revenue goes into the Nairobi Urban Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund (NUIRF).

Who pays the Infrastructure Levy? It’s applied to development applications, funding infrastructure projects delivered jointly with agencies like KURA and KeNHA.

Does this affect buyers of off-plan apartments? Not directly by law, but developers typically factor added costs like this into pricing, so some pass-through is reasonable to expect over time, particularly on newer approvals.

Has this already taken effect? Yes. The policy is officially gazetted and in force, and the county has urged developers, property owners, and residents to familiarise themselves with it.

Does this change how much land I need to surrender for road expansion? For land in areas earmarked for future road widening, yes — the amount is now based on a development’s projected population rather than a fixed percentage of plot size.

What are the 15 Development Control Zones? A new zoning structure replacing the 2004/2006 planning ordinances, with each zone carrying its own density parameters aligned with Nairobi’s long-term master plan (NIUPLAN), and specific maximum building heights and floor limits.

What is Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) under this policy? A planning priority that encourages compact, mixed-use development within 800 metres of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, potentially with different density allowances than sites further from transit.

Is there still an amnesty for unauthorised developments? A six-month amnesty window opened in December 2025 under the Nairobi City County Regularization of Unauthorized Development Act, 2025. If that window has since closed in your area, the county has indicated enforcement action will follow — it’s worth confirming your specific status directly with the county rather than assuming the amnesty is still open.

Have a Specific Project in Mind?

Whether you’re evaluating an off-plan purchase, planning renovation work on a rental property, or scoping a new development, it’s worth a direct conversation about how this policy applies to your specific situation before you commit. Get in touch with Loyd at Block to talk it through.

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