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The number of houses completed units under the Affordable Housing Programme reduced by 50.7pc last year further deeming government’s prospects of delivering at least 250,000 units annually.
According to the latest data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the State Department for Housing
and Urban Development (SDHUD) only managed to complete 1,655 units last year compared to 3,357 units which were completed in 2023 under the programme.
“Here we are talking of what is completed. There are a number of them that are in the pipeline. In fact the expenditure on affordable housing has increased but what has been completed is lower than what we had in 2023. We expect that come next year, so much of it will be reported,” said Macdonald Obudho, Director General KNBS.
Under the Affordable Housing Act, 2024 which came into force in March last year, employers are required to deduct Affordable Housing Levy from employee’s gross monthly salary at the rate of 1.5pc with employer matching the same contribution.
According to KNBS, the value of public residential building works completed under the programme also declined from Ksh 11 billion in 2023 to Ksh 4 billion last year.
In the financial year 2024/25, the government had earmarked Ksh 86.5 billion for projects under affordable housing, which is 10.6pc higher than Ksh 78.3 billion allocated the previous year. Nonetheless, absorption of the allocations remains low.
“The utilisation rate of budgeted funding was 32.6pc cent in 2023/24 compared to 86.8pc recorded in 2022/23,” said KNBS.
The Economic Survey 2025 further indicates that the total value of completed buildings in Nairobi City County declined by 2.3pc to Ksh 149.9 billion in 2024.
The number of reported completed private buildings declined from 22,093 in 2023 to 21,807 last year while that of residential buildings also reduced to 17,920 from 18,084 units in 2023
“The number of reported non-residential completed buildings declined by 3pc to 3,887 units in 2024 indicating a slowdown in the construction of commercial, office and institutional buildings,” the survey notes.
However, there was an increase in the value of building plans approved by the Nairobi City County from Ksh 220 billion in 2023 to Ksh 221.6 billion in 2024.
On the other hand, KNBS says the value of reported buildings completed decreased by 2.3pc to Ksh 149.9 billion in 2024. The decrease is attributed to decelerated completion rates of the already ongoing building projects.
