Sonko waives Sh172m rent arrears owed to City Hall
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has waived Sh172 million rent arrears owed by tenants living in county-owned houses.
He also cautioned tenants that they should pay rent on time going forward.
The county boss made the announcement on Sunday during workers prayer day at St Stephen’s Church, Jogoo Road, ahead of Labour Day celebrations.
The county owns 17,000 houses in estates which include Kaloleni, Jericho, Ziwani, Jerusalem (Salem) Lumumba, Uhuru, and Maringo.
Tenants in Eastlands pay between Sh2,000 and Sh20,000 in rent depending on location.
Sonko also issued a directive stopping demolition of houses by the Nairobi Regeneration team until he holds further consultations with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Last month, the Nairobi Regeneration Committee said that at least 5,000 buildings in Nairobi worth more than Sh500 billion are earmarked for demolition.
The targeted structures are on public land, road reserves, wetlands and or were constructed without approval by the county government.
Tourism CS Najib Balala, who co-chairs the regeneration team with Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, said most of the buildings are in Westlands and Kileleshwa.