Housing Finance in Kenya
Overview
CAHF has partnered with FSD Kenya in support of its Affordable Housing Project, which was launched in 2020 as part of a broader process to develop a coordinated and collaborative FSD Network Strategy for Affordable Housing in Kenya. The joint strategy, encompassing FSD Kenya, FSD Africa and FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), was developed with the support of CAHF, and FSD Kenya has used this collaborative Strategy as a foundation from which it has designed its Affordable Housing Project. In November 2020, the Programme Investment Committee agreed on a three-year grant programme to support the implementation of the Affordable Housing Project, and CAHF is a strategic collaborator for FSD Kenya in implementing this project.
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Affordable Housing and Housing Finance in Kenya
While only 28% of the population in Kenya is urbanised, 61% of the urbanised live in informal settlements. An estimated 10million Kenyans countrywide, and 36% of Nairobi’s population, live in slums. Urban centers are also characterised below levels of homeownership at 21.3%, compared to the national average of 61.3%. Over the last four years, the government has been forging partnerships with the private sector and development partners under the Big Four Agenda to deliver approximately 500 000 housing units to resolve the existing housing deficit an estimated 2 million units growing by 200000 units a year. However, though progress has been made in the delivery and development of related infrastructure, the supply is yet to match the demand. The deficit is expected to grow further, fueled by the relatively high population growth rate of 2.25% and an urbanisation rate of 4.01%.
Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP)contracted by 0.3% in 2020 owing to supply and demand disequilibrium exacerbated by COVID-19. In 2021, the economy is expected to grow by 4.5%, supported by growth in pandemic-affected sectors of tourism and trade,6driven by an upturn in economic activities with the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions, recovery in the service sector on the back of the vaccine rollout, and adequate agricultural output boosted by demand and the gradual reopening of the global economy. Inflation remained within the Central Bank of Kenya target of between 2.5% to 7.5% with a year-on-year rate of 6.44% in July 2021, largely driven by price rises in food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, fuel, and transport.
There was general optimism in the first half of 2021, with the average Standard Bank Monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index, an important tool in measuring the performance of the service industry and manufacturing activities in the economy, for the first five months of 2021 averaging 49.7, higher than 42.4 recorded in the first half of 2020, indicating an improvement in private sector activity.
Find out more information on the housing finance sector of Kenya, including key stakeholders, important policies, and housing affordability:
- Introduction
- Access to Finance
- Affordability
- Housing Supply
- Property Markets
- Policy and legislation
- Opportunities
- Access to data on housing finance
- Urban Informality
- Websites
Each year, CAHF publishes its Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook. The profile above is from the 2021 edition, which has up-to-date profiles for 55 African countries.
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Introduction
Housing is a backbone of Kenya’s real estate sector, which contributed approximately 8.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020.[1] Championed by the government’s Big 4 Agenda, which established the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP), activities by both the private sector and government have increased to resolve the housing deficit that stands at two million and grows annually by approximately 200 000 housing units.
The Kenyan economy recorded a 5.7 percent growth at the start of the year, ranking as one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.[2] However, this is expected to dwindle to 1.5 percent following the outbreak of COVID-19, which has affected both the local and global economy.[3] In response to the pandemic, the government introduced monetary and fiscal policies to minimise economic and social consequences. An example was the introduction of tax relief, thus increasing disposable income among Kenyans, part of which is used to meet housing needs.
The inflation rate stood at 4.4 percent in July, and is expected to remain stable supported by a recovery in agricultural output, a reduction of value-added tax (VAT), low oil prices and muted demand pressures.[4] On a year-to-date basis, the Kenya shilling had depreciated by 5.1 percent against the US dollar to Ksh106.5 (US$1) on 1 July 2020,[5] attributed to increased demand for hard currencies in the wake of market uncertainty.
For the financial year 2020/21, the housing sector recorded a decline in budget allocation, attributed to constrained fiscal space by the government as it grapples with economic effects of the pandemic, which means reduced development of affordable housing. Nevertheless, it seeks to protect those most vulnerable from the pandemic, with informal settlements having increased access to water through government initiatives. These efforts have been complemented by institutions such as the World Bank, which approved credit intended for informal settlement improvements.
[1] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Quarterly GDP Report – First Quarter, 2020. https://www.knbs.or.ke/?wpdmpro=quarterly-gross-domestic-product-report-first-quarter (Accessed 15 August 2020). Pg. 11.
[2] World Bank (2020). The World Bank in Kenya. Overview. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kenya/overview (Accessed 12 August 2020).
[3] World Bank (2020). Kenya Economic Update April 2020: Turbulent Times for Growth in Kenya – Policy Options during the COVID-19 Pandemic. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/683141588084127834/pdf/Kenya-Economic-Update-Turbulent-Times-for-Growth-in-Kenya-Policy-Options-during-the-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf%20 (Accessed 20 August 2020). Pg. 19.
[4] Central Bank of Kenya (2020) Inflation Rates. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/inflation-rates/ (Accessed 12 August 2020).
[5] Central Bank of Kenya (2020). Foreign Exchange Rates. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/rates/forex-exchange-rates/ (Accessed 12 August 2020).
Access to Finance
Financial access in Kenya has been on an upswing in the last one and half decades. Perceived demand for credit, however, has plummeted in real estate due to subdued demand for housing units. COVID- was listed as the only factor impairing demand for credit, with credit standards tightened for real estate and tourism sectors, mainly to avoid an increase in non-performing loans as a result of the pandemic.
Six institutions dominate mortgage loans, lending to 74.5% of the market. These institutions include one medium-sized bank, the Housing Finance Corporation (limited at 11.2%), and five banks from the large peer group at 63.3 % (KCB bank, Stanbic, Standard Chartered Bank, ABSA, and Cooperative Bank). Kenya has 42 licensed commercial banks with 35 offering mortgages. These mortgages are supplemented by housing loans from 14 microfinance institutions and several Saving and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs).
The highest percentage of non-performing loans (NPLs) were reported for mortgages at48% orKsh70.5 billion (US$652.7million) as of March 2021 compared to Ksh47.5 billion (US$439.8million) in March 2020.
In 2020, there were 26971 mortgage loans compared to 16135 in December 2011. Although an increase over time, the increase has been low compared to demand, indicating an opportunity to enlarge the market. To promote this, the Central Bank of Kenya through Banking circular No. 2 of 8 June 2021 reviewed the treatment of residential mortgages under the Basel III framework. Mortgage lending that is fully secured by the residential property is now assigned a risk weight of 35% from a previous 50%, subject to prudential criteria by the supervisory authorities. It is envisioned that this new weighting will free banks’ capital for more lending for residential mortgages. The mortgage market lending interest rate averaged 10.9% in 2020 compared to 11.3% in 2019, with most banks supporting a 25-year tenure.
Mortgage repayments have decreased in 2020 and there has been a decrease in mortgage facilities advanced by creditors due to the effects of COVID-19. Mortgage accounts declined by 3.7% from 27993 to 26971. This represents a mortgage book size of Ksh232.7 billion (US$2.15billion) and an average mortgage loan size of Ksh 8.6 million (US$79630) by the end of 2020 compared to Ksh 8.5million (US$78701) in 2019. Banks indicated that the pandemic was the highest obstacle to mortgage market development, followed by high housing unit prices and the high cost of land.
Kenya licensed and put in operation the Kenya Mortgage Refinancing Company (KMRC Plc) in 2020 which has already injected Ksh 2.75 billion (US$25.5million) into the market. In 2021 KMRC plans to issue a green bond, as part of its cash-raising through Kenyan capital markets while helping solidify them and is expected to play a key role in promoting the development of the mortgage market. KMRC Plc is a secondary mortgage lender focused on lending to primary mortgage lenders (PMLs) including commercial banks, SACCOS, and microfinance to standardise the mortgage market through building capacity for PMLS in terms of liquidity; enhance the capital market contribution to the mortgage market by issuing bonds for sustainable finance to PMLS; help improves mortgage tenures by PMLS through funding; and enable entry of new lenders, for instance, SACCOS and microfinance institutions. Overall, the aim is to increase homeownership through affordable mortgages.
The government continues to deliver on the affordable housing agenda with the provision of 500 000 units expected by 2022. Housing units are completed in Ngara and Park Road in Nairobi, as well as the residential units for the National Police and the Kenya Prison Services. There has been progressive registration of Kenyans on the Boma Yangu platform. This platform allows Kenyans to contribute towards deposits to buy homes and to put their names down for homes in projects in the pipeline. The platform has 321705 registered members Fifty-four percent of Kenyans use personal savings for housing development, followed by bank loans at 19%, and mortgages being the least used at 6%. Savings and Credit Cooperative societies (Sacco) loans account for 11%
[1] FinAcess (2019). 2019 FinAccess Household Survey. April 2019. https://fsdkenya.org/publication/finaccess2019/
(Accessed 14 September 2020). Pg. 8.
[2] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Economic Survey 2020. https://www.knbs.or.ke/?wpdmpro=economic-survey-2020 (Accessed 25 August 2020). Pg. 44.
[3] FinAccess (2009). FinAcess National Survey: Dynamics of Kenya’s changing financial landscape https://fsdkenya.org/publication/finaccess-national-survey-2009-dynamics-of-kenyas-changing-financial-landscape/#:~:text=The%20objectives%20of%20FinAccess%202009,particular%20insight%20into%20the%20types (Accessed 22 September 2020). Pg. 146.
[4] Central Bank of Kenya (2018). Bank Supervision Annual Report 2018. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/banking_sector_annual_reports/1174296311_2018%20Annual%20Report.pdf (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pg. 20.
[5] Wood, D. (2019). Housing Investment Landscapes: Southern African Development Community 2019. Centre for Affordable Housing Finance. https://housingfinanceafrica.org/app/uploads/SADC_Housing-Investment-Landscapes_RSLayout_Final-1.pdf (Accessed 14 August 2020). Pg. 16
[6] Central Bank of Kenya (2018. Bank Supervision Annual Report 2018. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/banking_sector_annual_reports/1174296311_2018%20Annual%20Report.pdf (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pgs. 20-21.
[7] Business Daily (2020). State to offer mortgage at 7pc. Business Daily. 11 August 2020. https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/State-to-offer-mortgage-at-7pc-in-Sept/3946234-5607018-m0hbr9z/index.html (Accessed 15 August 2020),
[8] Central Bank of Kenya (2018). Bank Supervision Sector Annual Report 2018. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/banking_sector_annual_reports/1174296311_2018%20Annual%20Report.pdf (Accessed 25 August 2020). Pg. 20.
Affordability
Data from the 2019 Kenya population and the household census shows high ownership of homes nationally at 61.3%, with 38.7% of the national population renting. The situation is different for urban areas with 21.3% ownership and 78.7% rental. In terms of construction standards, 43.7% of the owned houses have cement as the main flooring material, and 80.3% have an iron sheet in gas as the main roofing material. A significant 30% of owned homes have earth or sand as the main floor finish. This demonstrates that although households have access to housing, it does not necessarily mean that the living conditions are good.
The mortgage market is expected to remain subdued due to expected repayment defaults and few loans being advanced due to the depressed economy occasioned by effects of the pandemic, despite government incentives on title di
gitisation, a focus on affordable housing, and the KMRC starting to operate. Progress is, however, being made. The Government continues to allocate funds to affordable housing. KMRC for instance made its first disbursement of Ksh 2.75 billion (US$25.5million) in 2020 to four primary lending institutions (KCB Bank, Housing Finance Corporation, Stima Sacco, and Tower Sacco) backing 1400 new mortgages. Loans issues will be capped at Ksh 4 million (US$37035)for houses bought within the Nairobi Metropolitan Area (NMA) and Ksh 3 million(US$27776) for the rest of the country.
[1] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2020). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Report. https://housingfinanceafrica.org/documents/2019-kenya-population-and-housing-census-reports/ (Accessed 15 August 2020).
[2] The National Treasury (2020). Speech by Hon. (Amb.) Ukur Yatani, EGH, Cabinet Secretary, The National Treasury and Planning, During the Launch of the Report of the Survey on Socio-Economic Impact Of COVID-19 on Households. 19 May 2020.
https://www.treasury.go.ke/media-centre/news-updates/722-launch-of-the-report-of-the-survey-on-socio-economic-impact-of-covid-19-on-households.html (Accessed 14 August 2020). Pg. 3.
[3] Central Bank of Kenya (2020). Press Release by the Monetary Policy Committee. 29 July 2020. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/mpc_press_release/603807985_MPC%20Press%20Release%20-%20Meeting%20of%20July%2029%202020.pdf (Accessed 30 August 2020). Pg. 1.
[4] KCB Group (2020). KCB Group PLC Investor Presentation (Q2 2020) https://kcbgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/KCB-Group-PLC-Q2-2020-Investor-Presentation.pdf (Accessed 22 September 2020). Pg. 25.
[5] Central Bank of Kenya (2020). Press Release by the Monetary Policy Committee. 29 July 2020. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/mpc_press_release/603807985_MPC%20Press%20Release%20-%20Meeting%20of%20July%2029%202020.pdf (Accessed 30 August 2020). Pg. 1.
[6] Kenya Law (2020). Tax Laws Amendment Act No. 2 of 2020. http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/AmendmentActs/2020/TaxLaws_Amendment_Act_No.2of2020.pdf (Accessed 20 August 2020). Pg. 22.
Housing Supply
Kenya has an annual housing demand of 250 000 units with an estimated supply of 50 000 units, resulting in an estimated deficit of 2 million units. The government, under its Big 4 agenda on affordable housing blueprint, aspires to reduce the average cost of homeownership by 50%. It also aims to reduce the average cost of construction by 30% and reduce the low-income housing gap by 60%, while creating 300 000 construction jobs and increasing the construction contribution to GDP by 100%. Efforts have been made with the Park Road, Ngara Nairobi Project, with 2720 housing units set for occupation in 2021 and additional 4 024 units expected next year in the three ongoing projects of Pangani Nairobi, Buxton Estate Mombasa, and Nakuru project. In addition, the Government of Kenya, partnering with the United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS), also launched a project set to deliver 8888 low-cost units initially, with a memorandum of understanding to further develop 200 000 units under the same partnership.
To support the implementation of the Big 4 Agenda, the Kenyan Treasury in the 2021/2022 budget allocated Ksh13.9billion (US$128.7million) for affordable housing programs, with a key allocation of Ksh 3.5 billion (US$32.4million) to the KMRC. This is to be used for mortgage refinancing, building affordable housing units at Ksh 8.2 billion (US$75.9million), and constructing social housing.
Among others, Ksh3.5 billion (US$32 405535) was also allocated to the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project–Phase II; Ksh1 billion (US$9258724) for constructing markets; a like amount for maintaining government housing; Ksh 750 million (US$6944043) for building housing units for police and prison personnel; and Ksh 700 million (US$6481107) for the Kenya Urban Programme.
The government continues to create an enabling environment for affordable housing through improved land administration, infrastructure development, and general policy and partnerships. In the last three years, 2.4 million titles were issued, and the Ministry of Lands embarked on digitising the country’s 57 land registries through the National Land Information Management System (NLIMS) with Nairobi, Trans Nzoia, and Lamu 100% digitised and 13 other registries at various levels of automation.
Land remains a key component in the delivery of affordable houses, accounting for 60% of the cost in the development. Land prices in Nairobi and its dormitory towns/satellite towns have continued to increase despite the pandemic, with overall prices in Nairobi increasing by 0.3% and increases of 1.1% in satellite towns. Prices increased in satellite town Ngong by 18.13% over the year, pointing to the challenge of the spiraling of land in the provision of affordable houses in Kenya.
Through the Finance Act 2019, the government has provided incentives to boost the supply of affordable housing. These incentives include providing Value Added Tax (VAT)exemption for all inputs for affordable housing, stamp duty exemption for first homeowners, and further waivers on National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA)and the National Construction Authority (NCA) fees, to reduce overall development costs.
More needs to be done to create affordable housing in Kenya. More Kenyans are leaving rural regions to move to urban areas in search of higher-paying careers or jobs. This trend has created a demand for additional housing in cities such as Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu. Other affordable housing challenges include reduced spending power by the targeted population group, exacerbated by COVID-19. The strict unemployment rate rose to 7.2% in Q3 2020 before falling back to 5.4%, slightly higher than when the pandemic gripped the economy (4.9%).
[1] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Leading Economic Indicators June 2020. https://www.knbs.or.ke/?wpdmpro=leading-economic-indicators-june-2020 (Accessed 26 August 2020). Pg. 38.
[2] World Bank (2020). Economic Update April 2020: Turbulent Times for Growth in Kenya – Policy options during the COVID-19 pandemic. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/683141588084127834/pdf/Kenya-Economic-Update-Turbulent-Times-for-Growth-in-Kenya-Policy-Options-during-the-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf (Accessed 27 August 2020). Pg. 27.
[3] Kenya Law (2020). Tax Laws Amendment Act No. 2 of 2020. http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/AmendmentActs/2020/TaxLaws_Amendment_Act_No.2of2020.pdf (Accessed 15 August 2020). Pg. 24
Property Markets
Real estate ranked third in contribution to the country’s GDP in 2020.31Kenya’s real estate has continued to grow in the last two decades, maintaining its share of GDP. Real estate’s contribution to GDP stood at 9.3% in 2020 little different from 9.2% in 2019, indicating the sector’s resilience amid the pandemic. Construction grew 11.8% in 2020 compared to 5.6% in 2019, boosted by state investment in infrastructure and residential housing with public residential houses by the State Department of Housing and the National Construction Corporation completing 2332 units with other 2032 under construction.
Overall, the real estate construction sectors contributed 16.3% to GDP in 2020. Despite this improved performance, the pandemic affected the industry negatively. A study by the Kenya National Bureau of statistics in 202033 revealed that 37% of Kenyans who rented houses could not pay their rent on time, with 61% giving reduced earnings as the main reason. Other severe consequences witnessed in 2020 include a slowdown in collections for off-plan real estate purchases on installment plans, as well as fewer building approvals as public offices remained closed. House prices fell by an estimated 0.2% in 2020 thanks to the economic slump which affected both demand and supply. In construction, the residential and commercial construction sub-sectors were hardest hit while the public infrastructure construction sub-sector was supported by public spending. Key obstacles in 2020 included “supply bottlenecks, reduction in labor, and constraints on financing”
Housing prices remained static in Q2 2021 compared to the first quarter. This was driven by the oversupply of apartments in the upper-middle-class segment, and reduced incomes in the last 15 months due to the effects of the pandemic. Apartment prices on average fell 5.8% in 2021, far more than detached units, which dipped 1.7%. However, rental prices continued to rise, driven by demand for semi-detached houses at 3.4% in peri-urban areas of Nairobi. The drop in house prices was a sign of the long wait ahead for recovery of the industry, which has had subdued market conditions long before the start of the pandemic, with a slight increase of prices in 2020 at 0.22%, after negative growth since 2019.
Land prices remained relatively strong in the second quarter of 2021, with an overall price appreciation 2.33-foldin Nairobi and 2.39-foldin satellite towns from 2011 to 2021. This is driven by expanding infrastructure, speculative buying, and high prices in the main urban areas, with large pieces of land being subdivided and sold in small units.
The market is expected to grow sluggishly due to slow economic activity, the upcoming presidential elections, prolonged negative net absorption in the upper-middle residential segment, and the freezing of new developments to clear existing stock. Government backing in the affordable housing segment ensures activity continues on the back of a huge housing deficit.
[1] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Quarterly GDP Report (2020). https://www.knbs.or.ke/?wpdmpro=quarterly-gross-domestic-product-report-first-quarter (Accessed 15 August 2020). Pg. 11.
[2] Kenya Bankers Association (2020). Housing Price Index Q2 2020. https://www.kba.co.ke/downloads/KBA-HPI 2020_Q2.pdf (Accessed 15 August 15, 2020). Pg. 3.
[3] Hass Consult (2020). Q2 2020 House Price Index 2020. https://hassconsult.co.ke/real-estate/images/HassPropertyIndexQ2.2020.pdf (Accessed 16 August 2020).
[4] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Leading Economic Indicators June 2020. file:///C:/Users/bmwangi/Downloads/LEI%20JUNE%202020%20(2).pdf (Accessed 25 August 2020). Pg. 38.
[5] Cytonn Investments (2020). Nairobi Metropolitan Area Land Report (2020) https://cytonnreport.com/topicals/nairobi-metropolitan-area-land-report-2020 (Accessed 24 August 2020).
Policy and legislation
The Kenyan land policy agenda is anchored in Chapter Five of the Kenya Constitution on land and environment38and is aimed at land being managed equitably, efficiently, productively, and sustainably.
The government carried out a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)in 202039bringing about key changes in various pieces of legislation and paving the way to Land Registration (Electronic Transaction) Regulation 2020. Based on the RIA, the government launched a digital National Land Information Management System in April 2021 and aims to complete the digitisation process by the end of 2021. The automation process is aimed at securing land records and speeding up land transactions. The government is investigating partners in obtaining Geographic Information System (GIS) equipment to ease land mapping.
The Ministry of Lands is also in the process of converting titles, involving migrating title deeds to a unitary regime, as envisaged under the Land Registration Act. Titles issued under the old laws are to be canceled and replaced with titles under the new regime. This process started with titles in Nairobi and is expected to be rolled out to the rest of the country.
Kenya Sectional Properties Act 202043is expected to boost the development of multi-dwellings, such as apartment blocks, where buyers will now have titles to their respective units.
At a local level, The Nairobi City County is revising the Valuation Roll to enhance revenue collection and make the management of properties in the city more efficient. The city has been using the outdated 1980 Valuation.
[1] Ministry of Lands (2009). Sessional Paper 3 of 2009 on National Land Policy. http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ken163862.pdf (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pg. 18.
[2] Cytonn Investments (2020). Nairobi Metropolitan Area Land Report. https://cytonnreport.com/research/nairobi-metropolitan-area-land-report-2020-cytonn-weekly#nairobi-metropolitan-area-land-report-2020 (Accessed 22 August 2020).
Opportunities
Opportunity is at the base of the pyramid segment of the population, with 10 million dwellings in the informal sector, accounting for 21.3% of the population.
Affordable land remains a key factor in hampering housing development and despite the government’s land reforms, more effort is needed to avail land and the bulk infrastructure necessary for the mass production of houses. Opportunity exists in this area with the possibility of project structures that allow government partnerships in infrastructure development as a stand-alone investment.
Kenya’s demographic profile remains attractive for investment in housing. Most of the population is young and an urbanisation growth rate of 4.01% and population growth at 2.25%, all point to significantly increased demand. This presents an opportunity for housing investment and investment in related infrastructure.
Access to data on housing finance
Housing finance data in Kenya is outdated and not readily available due to late publication or the institution that has the data not publishing it timeously.
Primary sources of data for housing in Kenya are the Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya Bankers Association, Kenya Private Developers Association and Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning, State Department of Housing and Urban Development, World Bank Group, and developers; Hass Consult limited, Knight Frank and Cytonn Real estate.
On the supply, side data is published periodically and includes development permit approvals, cement consumption, and sector credit advancement. On the demand side data available included mortgage numbers, performance and trends, land and housing supply, and price changes, household surveys and social-economic characteristics, sector reforms and trends, and demand and credit trends.
Challenges for data collection include being able to access mortgage loan data from commercial banks only and not from alternative lenders who play an important role in financing the sectors. Data is historic and may not capture actual representation at the time of publication. Data on actual effective demand is not published and there is limited data on the informal sector, which is not updated regularly and this represents a gap in current data representation. To date, actual units delivered in Kenya are still estimated.
Urban Informality
Kenya has 46.5% (2018) of its population living in informal settlements –approximately 21.9 million of its 47 million population, as per the 2019 census. This translates into more than 5.6 million households, approximately 47% of all households in the country. The percentage of the urban population with access to safe drinking water is 50% and 34.7% of urban Kenyans have access to basic sanitation, according to the 2017 World Bank report.
Ongoing programs in support of housing include the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) under the Kenya Urban Development policy to strengthen urban infrastructure with a lending capacity of Ksh 30 billion (US$277.8million) in 59 municipalities.
[1] Central Bank of Kenya (2020). Monetary Policy Committee Meeting Press Release. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/mpc_press_release/495753587_MPC%20Press%20Release%20-%20Meeting%20of%20April%2029%202020.pdf (Accessed 12 August 2020).
[2] Central Bank of Kenya (2020). Credit Survey Report March 2020. https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/banking_sector_reports/814487954_Credit%20Survey%20Report%20for%20the%20Quarter%20ended%20March%202020.pdf (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pg. 21.
[3] The National Treasury (2020). FY 2020/21 Budget. https://www.treasury.go.ke/component/jdownloads/send/208-2020-2021/1580-budget-highlights-fy-2020-21.html (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pg. 2.
[4] Republic of Kenya (2020). Kenya Gazette Supplement Senate Bills 2020. The Pandemic Response and Management Bill, 2020. http://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2020-04/Pandemic%20Response%20and%20Management%20Bill%2C%202020.pdf (Accessed 12 August 2020). Pgs. 80-83.
[5] World Bank (2020). Kenya receives $150 million to Improve Living Conditions for 1.7 Million Residents in Urban Informal Settlements. Press Release 7 August 2020. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/08/07/kenya-receives-150-million-to-improve-living-conditions-for-17-million-residents-in-urban-informal-settlements (Accessed 24 August 2020).
Websites
Central Bank of Kenya https://www.centralbank.go.ke/
Kenya Bankers Association https://www.kba.co.ke/
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics http://www.knbs.or.ke/
Kenya Mortgage Refinancing Company https://kmrc.co.ke/
HassConsult limited https://www.hassconsult.co.ke/
World Bank Group -Kenya https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kenya
Ministry of Land and Planning https://lands.go.ke/
The National Land Commission https://www.landcommission.go.ke/
State Department of Housing and Urban Development https://housingandurban.go.ke/
FSD Kenya: https://www.fsdkenya.org/
Habitat for Humanity International: http://www.habitat.org/
Shelter Afrique; http://www.shelterafrique.org/
