Demand occupation certificates before moving into buildings, EBK tells tenants

A residential building is seen tilted in Kinoo, at the border of Nairobi and Kiambu Counties. [Source: Doctah254, Twitter]

The Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) has recommended the public to demand occupation certificates before renting or occupying buildings to avert cases of collapsed buildings.

In a structural assessment report dated April 12, EBK highlighted recommendations to real estate developers to engage registered Engineers as published in the Kenya gazette.

"Members of the public should demand an occupation certificate before committing to rent or occupy any building. All developers in counties to engage professional registered engineers in the PE or CE categories published in the Kenya gazette. Once registration of projects is complete on the NCA portal, most developers proceed without the approval of registered engineers." EBK said in a statement.

According to the report, investigations conducted by EBK in August 2022, revealed that most developers do not involve engineers in the professional and consulting categories for supervision.

The report also stated that persons who are not registered engineers should stop offering engineering services in compliance with the Engineers Act of 2011.

Following media reports on a building which collapsed in Thindigua , EBK has established an independent team to carry out investigations on the cause of the collapsing and advise on actions to be taken.

The board commends the multi-Agency team for the timely action to evacuate and prevent loss of life and property.

The board further urges the government to work closely together so as to build strong collaboration and help in implementing the Engineers Act and scale of fees.

EBK is also targeting a number of site visits with an aim of stopping any construction that is being carried out without proper supervision by professional engineers.

The board is also working to complete the engineers' portal to ensure that engineers report to their projects for follow up.

The report states that the board has held several workshops to ensure capacity building and the implementation of the scale of fees.

The board is currently undertaking disciplinary hearings on complaints received against registered engineers to ensure that in exercising their duties, engineers adhere to the engineers' code of conduct.