By Samuel Kimeu
A controversial amendment to Section 90 of the Land Act, currently before a Senate committee, poses a grave threat to the rights of beneficiaries under the Affordable Housing Scheme. Kenyans have until 18th April 2025, to voice their opposition to these proposals, which seek to drastically curtail the legal safeguards for affordable housing mortgage holders facing default.
The existing Section 90 of the Land Act provides a crucial three-month (approximately 90-day) window for borrowers in monetary default to regularize their payments before financial institutions can initiate further action. However, the proposed amendment chillingly aims to SLASH this vital lifeline to a mere 45 DAYS, but only for affordable housing beneficiaries. !
This drastic reduction will leave countless Kenyan families, many first-time homeowners accessing affordable housing, dangerously vulnerable. Faced with unforeseen financial challenges, they will have half the time to recover before their homes are sold. This will disproportionately impact those already financially stretched and less equipped to navigate sudden economic hardship. Many who will have lost their current means of shelter in favour of the Affordable Housing Scheme.
Adding insult to injury, the proposed changes also target Section 96 of the Land Act, which currently mandates a 40-day notice to sell a charged property after the initial default period. The amendment seeks to WHITTLE this crucial window down to a mere 20 DAYS for affordable housing mortgages. This accelerated timeline for property disposal will further disadvantage homeowners, severely limiting their options to find alternative solutions or protect their investments. It is clearly discriminatory.
The implications are particularly alarming given the very purpose of the Affordable Housing Act – to provide accessible and adequate housing, especially to vulnerable populations. This includes residents of informal settlements who are granted the “first right of purchase” under Section 47 of the Act. It is a cruel irony that these individuals, prioritized for homeownership, now face the highest risk of losing their homes in a fraction of the time afforded to other property owners.
This targeted erosion of legal protection for affordable housing beneficiaries raises profound questions about fairness and equity. It flies in the face of the spirit, and arguably the letter, of Article 27 of the Constitution, guaranteeing equal protection and benefit of the law to all Kenyans. Why should those striving for affordable shelter be subjected to a significantly more punitive legal framework than other homeowners? Doesn’t the very philosophy behind affordable housing demand greater safeguards for its vulnerable beneficiaries? Is there a hidden agenda, a predatory motive waiting for the less fortunate to stumble so their hard-earned homes can be snatched away?
This proposed amendment to the Land Act reeks of a land grab in disguise, potentially facilitating the swift seizure of properties from vulnerable homeowners by financial institutions. It undermines the core objective of affordable housing and establishes a dangerous two-tiered system of property rights in Kenya.
Kenyans must rise and vehemently resist this injustice! You have until Tuesday, 15th March 2025, to submit your memorandum to the Senate in opposition to these proposals. Contact your Senators NOW and demand they reject these discriminatory amendments to Section 90 and Section 96 of the Land Act. Let your voice be heard loud and clear: Equal protection under the law for ALL homeowners! Do not let the dream of affordable housing turn into a poisoned cup of accelerated dispossession.
