The Affordable Housing agenda is a key pillar of the government’s bottom-up economic transformation agenda (BETA).
The Affordable Housing agenda is anchored in the Affordable Housing Act, which President William Ruto assented to on March 2024.
Over the next four years, the government has planned over 730,062 affordable housing units, with already 112,405 completed and ongoing. This puts it to a total project pipeline of 842,467 affordable housing units.
According to Habitat, the housing deficit in Kenya stood at 2 million in 2012 and continues to grow at the rate of over 250,000 units a year. There is a proliferation of informal settlements in urban areas with 60 per cent of the population living in informal settlements.
With over 300,000 Kenyans estimated to have registered for affordable housing units, several Kenyans have been questioning the procedure used by the government to allocate houses.
There are four categories of affordable housing units which include;
- Social housing unit: A house targeted at a person whose monthly income is below Ksh20,000;
- Affordable middle-class housing unit: A house targeted at a person whose monthly income is over Ksh149,000;
- Affordable housing unit: A house targeted at a person whose monthly income is between Ksh20,000 and Ksh149,000;
- Rural affordable housing unit: A house targeted at a person living in any area which is not an urban area.
Eligibility criteria and application procedure for Affordable Housing Unit
All Kenyans over the age of 18 are eligible for allocation of one housing unit if they provide proof of the requisite deposit and meet the criteria set in the regulations.
Potential house owners are required to make an application to the Affordable Housing Board with the relevant documents attached.
In allocating the affordable housing units, the Board will give preference to marginalized persons, vulnerable groups, youth, women and persons with disabilities.
Eligible persons may make voluntary savings to raise a deposit for an affordable housing unit.
The Affordable Housing Fund’s administrator will open separate bank accounts for depositing the voluntary amounts and issue an account number to individuals contributing voluntary funds. Any interest accrued will be credited to the same account. Anyone who makes voluntary contributions but is not allocated an affordable housing unit may opt to withdraw their savings with accrued interest after giving a 90-day written notice.
Alternatively, they may apply to the Board for issuance of an affordable mortgage to develop a rural affordable housing unit. The savings and the land to be built on, will however be considered as collateral to secure the mortgage.
Ownership of Affordable Housing Units
Upon approval by the Cabinet Secretary (Housing), the Board shall transfer ownership to a qualified applicant upon payment of the full purchase price and issuance of a certificate proving consent from the Board.
Owners are however restricted from the onward sale of the affordable housing units without prior consent of the Board.
How to apply for Housing Units
Register
Kenyans seeking to get housing units must have an eCitizen account. They can register through the Boma Yangu web portal or via the *832# USSD. Those seeking to to register must be Kenyans above 18 years of age with a valid national identity card.
During registration, one will be required to submit personal details and housing preferences.
Once registered, the details will be verified by the relevant government agencies.
Save
To activate the account, the potential owner will be required to save a minimum of Ksh200. After activation, they can save any amount at any time, as many times as they wish through the various payment options available.
Registered and saving members can view all the available projects on Boma Yangu, add those they like to their wishlist and select a preferred unit
Selecting a preferred unit will show how much deposit they’d need to save to be eligible for allocation – which is 10 per cent of the unit value.
Own
Once projects are completed, the allocation process will begin. Registered members will be notified when the allocation process starts.
Members will be asked to select a unit and notified of the amount they need to have saved to be eligible for allocation.
“The allocation process for homes will be done through a fair and transparent process,” the government says through Boma Yangu.
The initial eligibility for allocation will depend on several factors such as when a member reached the amount of deposit required, family status and other social factors, as well as the demand across various housing categories.
Those who do not get an allocation in the first instance will be put on a waiting list to ensure they have priority in subsequent allocations.
Under the scheme, each Kenyan can only benefit once.
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