Architectural Association of Kenya goes digital to address building permits delay

Mugure Njendu, AAK President during the release Status Of The Built Environment report June 2019.

You will now be able to easily access information on building permits and planning approvals in various counties through a website whose aim is to promote transparency in the construction sector.

The Architectural Association of Kenya launched the website on the backdrop of the status of the built environment report.

The report indicates a decline in the construction sector in the last half of 2019 which the association partly attributes to the lack of information on development control (building permits and planning approvals), an issue which the website will address.

 “We recognize the strides taken by county governments in making development control information accessible but undertaking a construction project in Kenya is still marred by unclear government approval processes which makes completing an application for the required documents unpredictable, long and tedious which creates a barrier for investors thus delaying and discouraging investment. This website is meant to ease that process,” said Mugure Njendu, President, Architectural Association of Kenya, during the launch of the website.

The Kenyan law requires that before developing land one must obtain a building permit and when necessary a planning approval from their respective county.

Planning permissions commonly sought before developing any land include change of use, extension of use, the extension of the lease, subdivision and amalgamation. According to the Physical and Land Use Planning Act 2019, where a Planning approval or Building permit has been granted but not acted on within three (3) years of receiving the permission, then that permission shall lapse, after which the application process has to be repeated.

“Access to information is the right of every Kenyan and it is anchored in law through the access to information act 2016, “said Mugure Njendu, President, Architectural Association of Kenya, during the launch of the website.