Mombasa landowners given a month to register properties

Mombasa Lands Executive Edward Nyale addresses journalists on Saturday. He threatened court action against owners of unregistered land and properties.

What you need to know:

  • The number of defaulters stands at 30,000, according to Mr Edward Nyale.
  • County grants a one-month amnesty to unregistered property owners to comply with directive.

More than 30,000 owners of land and property in Mombasa have a month to register and pay outstanding rates to the county or face legal consequences.

Lands, Housing and Planning executive Edward Nyale on Saturday said the county government was losing millions of shillings in unpaid rates for unregistered land.

Mr Nyale said most of the properties were registered with the Ministry of Lands, but not with the devolved government.

AMNESTY

During a press briefing at Governor Ali Hassan Joho’s office, Mr Nyale said the majority of defaulters were owners of residential houses.

“Some landowners have not registered because of lack of knowledge. This is costing the county millions of shillings,” he said.

He said the county had granted a one-month amnesty to unregistered landowners to comply for rating purposes.

The amnesty, granted on March 1, also affects accrued land rates, penalties and interest.

SERVICES

“We will then crack the whip and deal with unregistered landowners as per the law. This is because they will be denying the county the revenue needed to provide much-needed services to residents,” Mr Nyale said.

He said the amnesty was applicable only to owners of unregistered property and asked those with registered land to ensure they were up to date with payment of rates.

APPROVALS

“Those who have registered their properties with us are not affected,” he said.

The executive urged owners of unregistered property to comply so as to make maximum use of their property — including getting approvals on development plans.

“It is in their interest that they come forward and register the properties. We have a mechanism to deal with them should they defy this directive,” he added.