Why Resident Associations are worst nightmare for developers

During the International Housing Solutions (IHS) Affordable Housing Conference, Superior Homes chief executive Shiv Arora, did not have pleasant words to say about resident associations.

He noted how the lobbies are becoming an impediment to developers, wielding more power when it comes to obtaining building approvals.

“I think the government needs to take a look because with time, someone could stop your development for 12 months,” he said.

Terming the trend unfortunate, Arora said developers, under the auspices of the Kenya Property Developers Association (KPDA), are pushing back.

The lobby is formulating a policy that will guide the relationship between its members and resident associations.

“Sam [Kariuki, Mi Vida Homes CEO and KPDA board director] is leading a policy group to fight back,” he said.

Arora said the role of government goes beyond laying infrastructure to streamlining rules and regulations around approvals.

“We can build houses, move volumes, match our costs, but if we get frustrated with things like approvals ... and very slow court processes, it really has a negative impact on the sector,” he said.

Even the government has not been spared by resident associations’ wokeness. In March this year, Langata residents under the Langata Settlement Residents Association staged a protest over the government’s plan to put up 15,000 units in a 38-acre piece of land in the area. Fred Muryungi, the association’s chairperson, said the 15,000 units means an additional 75,000 people on top of the current 50,000 living in the area, adding to its water and sewerage challenges.

He claimed there was no public participation for the Sh25 billion project.

“We do not want these houses in Langata,” he said.

Henry Ochieng, CEO of the Kenya Alliance of Residents Associations (Kara), says failure to do public participation is among the reasons developers are facing resistance from the lobbies. He says this is a constitutional requirement.

“The major complaint has always been that when they carry out public participation, they talk to the wrong people. For instance, they come on a weekday when residents are away at work, and talk to house-helps, security and passers-by. These are people who have no interest in that particular area,” he said in an interview. Ochieng said it is not that residents are against development; their concerns are that developers are not following by-laws and zoning regulations.

“Look at what the zoning regulations say, get the right approvals, and do proper public participation. If those things are done as required by law, then we will not see these fights,” he said.

In March this year, Kajiado County signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kajiado County Alliance of Resident Associations, granting the lobby power to vet developers’ projects.

The deal provides that the county would only issue approvals to projects for which the association has issued a “no objection” vote.

The county government is, however, said to have since denounced the deal.  

But as resident associations fight with developers, there are also internal fights, amid the proliferation of gated communities, where a majority of residents tend to mind their own business.  

One such case is that of Fourways Junction, where residents have voiced their concerns about how their lobby is managing the state affairs.

For example, there are claims that the management favours those residing in villas over apartments, yet the service charge is standard for both. They have also queried how budgets are passed, as well as the audit of the service charge contributions.

“It is like some members of the executive committee wield more power than others,” one resident told The Standard.  

It is claimed that while villas are assigned a single guard per unit, the ratio in apartments stretches to several blocks, leading to security lapses.

“There exists an assumption that because FJRA (Fourways Junction Residents Association) committees have representatives from the apartments, it means that apartment interests are adequately advocated. That is not necessarily true all the time, because not everyone sees issues the same way. If apartment owners in any committee are out of touch with the realities/concerns of their fellow owners, vital issues will fall through the cracks unattended,” reads the minutes of one of the lobby’s meetings as voiced by some members.

The minutes reveal a lack of public participation in the 2025-2026 budget process.

“It was unclear how it could have proceeded despite members of the finance and executive committees being in the same owner WhatsApp group where all the conversations and debate on the issue have been ongoing for months,” the minutes add.

The estate management was yet to respond to our request for comment by the time of going to press.