Land lease caps to address ownership and use

Twin proposals by the draft constitution of capping land leases at 99 years and the establishment of a housing development fund to finance affordable houses will hasten the capacity of the two sectors to create national wealth, analysts have said.

The devolvement of housing in Kenya has been hampered by poor policies, starving the economy of estimated trillions of shillings and thousands of jobs possible through a vibrant property development industry.

Unlock potential

Better land utilisation is equally held back by poor laws that have seen millions of arable land that is owned by speculators remain idle.

Economists say unlocking the potential of land through equitable distribution and maximised utilisation could see Kenya end its perennial food shortages and improve rural livelihoods.

The twin issues of land and housing are some of the most emotive in the country, with conflicts surrounding land ownership flaring into inter-ethnic clashes, a factor that has led to high risk profiling of Kenya’s political and economic situation.

“The 99-year cap is a good idea that means land will always belong to the State. More people can the have access to it and utilise it,” said Charles Otieno, Public Policy and Governance expert at the Centre for Governance and Development.

The draft constitution proposes that six months after the draft becomes law “any interest in land larger than a ninety-nine year lease, by whoever granted, held by a non-citizen shall be converted to a ninety-nine year lease, unless otherwise revoked.”

The draft proposes that foreigners with freehold interest in any land in Kenya will automatically forfeit that right to the Republic of Kenya to hold on behalf of the people of Kenya.

Such as person will be given a 99-year lease at a peppercorn rent (or symbolical low price)

The development is a major shift from the policy adopted earlier this century by the colonialists that gave huge chunks of productive lands to foreigners then under the 999 year leases.

This meant that the land would only revert to the government, which holds the land in trust for its citizens, after one millennium or after tens of social generations.

The 999-years lease has created land barons and absentee landlords especially in parts of central Rift Valley, Coast and Central provinces.

The land has been idle, or undeveloped while millions of Kenyans live within it or out as squatters.

The economic cost of underutilisation of arable land in Kenya is yet to be quantified but the focus has been on the agitation of high land tax for land that is in individual hands but is not being put in the economic use.