Kimani Ichung’wah
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has tabled a revised Affordable Housing Bill that seeks to regularise the Housing Levy.
This comes days after the High Court declared the tax, which is enshrined in the Finance Act 2023, unconstitutional and discriminatory.
In the new proposal, the bill has retained the 1.5 percent deductions from workers’ salaries and an additional 1.5 percent from employers for each worker on their payroll.
The money collected will not be paid into the Consolidated Fund and will only be used for affordable housing.
The bill also establishes a board of directors, which will include permanent secretaries from the ministries of finance and housing, as well as nominees from the Council of Governors (CoG), COTU and the Federation of Kenya Employers.
At the same time, the Bill specifies who is eligible for which types of housing.
Those earning less than Ksh.20,000 would be allocated houses between 18 and 30 square metres, while those earning up to Ksh.149,000 would be allocated houses twice that size.
“In determining the allocation of an affordable housing unit under this section, the relevant authority shall give priority to marginalised persons, vulnerable groups, youth, women and persons with disabilities,” reads part of the bill.
The bill also recommends that 30% of the housing levy be allocated to the National Housing Corporation, 30% to slum rehabilitation and 36% to affordable housing.
In addition, the bill proposes a fine of Ksh 10 million or five years imprisonment or both to ensure that members managing the fund do not misappropriate the money saved by Kenyans.
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