Doing Business 2019 Kenya

Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Kenya and comparator economies – Measure of Quality

15 14.0 14.0

10.5
Index score
10 9.0 8.5 8.5

Kenya Botswana Mauritius Namibia Rwanda Sub-Saharan Africa

Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Kenya – Procedure, Time and Cost

No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs

1 Obtain a survey plan from Survey Kenya 1 day KES 500

Agency : Survey Kenya
A survey plan from Survey of Kenya is a required document when applying for a
building permit.

2 Obtain a project report from an environmental expert 5 days KES 50,000

Agency : Private Expert
Once the survey plan has been obtained, a licensed environmental expert must
be hired to prepare a project report to be submitted to NEMA.

3 Obtain approval of the environmental impact study 30 days KES 10,000

Agency : National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)
Following the enactment of new Environmental Management and Co-ordination
Act on February 27, 2009, companies now have to obtain approval of projects
from the National Environment Management Authority. Projects of all risk
categories are subject to approval and an environmental impact assessment
(EIA), including the BuildCo warehouse. It takes 30 days on average. EIA fees
has been eliminated effective from January 2017

4 Submit and obtain approval of the architectural plans 45 days KES 303,126
Agency : Nairobi City Councy - Development Control Section
The structural engineer submits all the structural and architectural drawings to be
approved using an online platform https://ccn-ecp.or.ke/. The required
documents to be submitted are the following:
i. The proposed development;
ii. A survey plan from Survey of Kenya;
iii. Ownership documents
iv. Up-to-date rates payment receipts.
v. Structural plans

The City Council will issue an invoice that must be paid, this can take up to 2—3
weeks to be obtained. The drawings are reviewed by all relevant departments
simultaneously. Once the structural and architectural drawings are approved,
they will be signed on by the governor of Nairobi. When all signatures have been
obtained, the approved plans are scanned and uploaded in the system so that
they can be retrieved by the architect.

On June 27, 2013 the Nairobi City County adopted the new Financial Act 2013
which became effective as of October 1, 2013. The Act modified the method of
assessing the building permit fees and consolidated several costs into one. The
building permit fee is now based on the size of the building. The Joint Building
Council Rates provide the estimated cost per square meter which varies
depending on the type of building (e.g. office block, residential, industrial
complex, etc.).

For the Doing Business case study, the estimated cost is KES 21,000 / sq. m.
The fees are as follows:
(i) Building plan approval fee: 1% of the estimated cost of construction
(ii) Construction sign board fee: KES 25,000
(iii) Application fee: KES 5,000
(iv) Inspection of building file: KES 5,000
(v) Occupation certificate: KES 5,000

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5 Submit and obtain approval of the structural plans 10 days no charge

Agency : Nairobi City County - Development Control Section
When construction is about to commence, the Contractor will apply for a
construction permit. However, with approved drawings construction may start
while the application for a building permit is being processed.

BuildCo must have the following items approved: project plans, architectural
drawings, location survey of property documents and others.

6 Obtain stamps on architectural and structural plans from the Nairobi City 1 day no charge
County - Development Control Section
Agency : Nairobi City County - Development Control Section
Once the plans have been approved, the architect must submit hard copies of
the plans to be stamped by the Nairobi City County, even after submitting the
documents online. The engineer must also do the same after the architect's plans
have been stamped. The engineer does not have to wait one month like the
architect to bring in the hard copies.

7 Apply and received the Project Registration Certificate from the National 7 days no charge
Construction Authority (NCA)
Agency : National Construction Authority (NCA)
BuildCo has to register the proposed construction project with the National
Construction Authority (NCA) and fill a project registration form providing details
of the construction work (that can be downloaded from the NCA website since
2012, www.nca.go.ke). This is line with the adoption of the National Construction
Authority Regulations (2014) that mandate contractors to register their
construction projects and obtain compliance certificate from NCA before
construction. It takes around a week to obtain the compliance certificate. Upon
submission of the application, BuildCo receives a temporary certificate that
testifies the registration is under process.
Most of the time, construction companies start building just after submission at
NCA without waiting to receive the compliance certificate as they should be
doing. NCA conducts periodic inspections during the construction looking for
registration certificates and structural flaws. NCA ensures that the safety of the
workers on site and the general public is respected.
BuildCo submits the project registration form to the authority with several
documents listed below. BuildCo is issued with an invoice on the amount of levy
it should pay the authority at selected bank accounts, which are posted on the
NCA website. The levy is 0.5% of the total cost of the project (percentage
applicable to projects with a value of over KES 5,000,000).
The following documents must be provided for the registration application
1. Authenticated architectural plans (original)
2. Authenticated structural plans (original)
3. Nema approval (Simple copy)
4. Bill of quantities (Simple copy)
5. contract/agreement (Simple copy) It should be duly signed by both the
contractor and the client
6. Contractor's registration certificate (Simple copy)
7. Quantity surveyor's practicing certificate (Simple copy)
8. Architect's practicing certificate (Simple copy)
9. Engineer's practicing certificate (Simple copy)

8 Notify the Nairobi City Council of commencement of work 1 day no charge

Agency : Nairobi City Council
According to the Planning and Building Regulations 2009 - Volume I- Section A-
101, AA 54, BuildCo must complete a form to notify the Nairobi City Council of
the commencement of work.

9 Request and receive set out inspection 1 day no charge

Agency : Nairobi City County - Development Control Section
According to the Planning and Building Regulations 2009 - Volume I - A-102, AA
55, BuildCo must complete a form and request an inspection from the Building
Control Section.

10 Request and receive foundation excavation inspection 1 day no charge

Agency : Nairobi City County - Development Control Section
According to the Planning and Building Regulations 2009 - Volume I- Section A-
103, AA 56, the Development Control Section of the Nairobi City Council must be
informed that the foundation /excavation is complete and request an inspection
by completing a form and submitted it.

11 Apply for permit to connect to the city sewage system 7 days KES 7,500
Agency : Nairobi City County - Development Control Section
According to the Planning and Building Regulations 2009 - Volume 1, Section A-
110, AA 63, a permit to connect to the City sewage system. It will take about a
week to obtain the permission.

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12 Request and receive final inspection by the Municipal Authority after 5 days no charge
construction
Agency : Nairobi City County - Development Control Section
Once the construction is completed alongside statutory inspections, BuildCo
applies for an occupancy certificate. The Structural engineer will file a form AA65,
according to the Planning and Building Regulations 2009, certifying that the "that
the structural work of the building mentioned below has been carried out as per
my structural design and details and that the said structure is safe and stable for
the purpose for which it is intended".

This certificate is issued to completed developments that have complied to all

approval conditions and have undergone the regular inspections at the required
stages. The application has to be accompanied by:Copy of approved building
plans; Copy of approved structural plans; Structural Engineer’s indemnity form;
Architect’s report; Plumbers certificate; and Kenya Bureau of Statistics form duly
filled.

The occupancy certificate is given when the City Council deems the building is in
compliance with the approved architectural drawings.

The application is then forwarded to the Assistant Director Enforcement so that

an inspector is assigned for the final inspection of the construction. Normally it
should be a combined visit from several other departments.

13 Obtain occupancy certificate 14 days no charge

Agency : Nairobi City County - Development Control Section

Apply for water connection 1 day KES 5,000

14 Agency : Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NairobiWater)
BuildCo is required to submit an "application for water and sewerage supply
form" obtained from the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company. Afterwards,
BuildCo is required to pay KES 5000 for a survey and estimate of fees and attach
the receipt of payment to the application form. BuildCo must also attach the
company's certificate of registration and its PIN number. The Nairobi Water
Company may approve the application after all these documents have been
submitted.

Two to three weeks after the application has been received Nairobi City Water
and Sewerage Company will send a team to assess the connection cost.

The final connection will be made once payment of the estimated connection cost
has been paid and this will take about 2—3 weeks to be done.

15 Receive inspection for assessment of connection fees 1 day no charge

Agency : Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NairobiWater)
Once an application has been submitted by BuildCo, an inspector will visit the
property to make a cost assessment for labor and materials for the connection.
This inspection will happen in about 2--3 weeks.

16 Obtain water connection 30 days no charge

Agency : Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NairobiWater)

Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

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Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Kenya – Measure of Quality

Answer Score

Building quality control index (0-15) 9.0

Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.0

How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0
Free of charge.

Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 0.0
regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees
to be paid.

Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0

Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in Licensed 1.0
compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) architect;
Licensed
engineer.

Quality control during construction index (0-3) 1.0

What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections by in- 1.0
(0-2) house engineer;
Unscheduled
inspections;
Inspections at
various phases.

Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 0.0
inspections are
not done in
practice during
construction.

Quality control after construction index (0-3) 2.0

Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, final 2.0
with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is
done by
government
agency.

Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 0.0
does not always
occur in practice.

Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.0

Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building No party is held 0.0
once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) liable under the
law.

Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible No party is 0.0
structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance required by law
or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain
insurance .

Professional certifications index (0-4) 4.0

What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the Minimum number 2.0
architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in architecture or
engineering;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer;
Passing a
certification
exam.

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What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction Minimum number 2.0
on the ground? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in engineering,
construction or
construction
management;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer;
Passing a
certification
exam.

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