Nairobi — The Nairobi County Executive Committee has sanctioned the auction of properties with unpaid land rates following the lapse of a penalty waiver extended to defaulters.

City Hall's apex policy body chaired by Governor Johnson Sakaja also imposed caveats preventing transactions on the affected properties.

Following Tuesday's announcement, the county will require tenants on affected properties to directly pay rent to the county government until the outstanding rates are settled in full.

Governor Sakaja emphasised the need for an efficient recovery process managed by internal lawyers to minimize legal fees.

The county had published a list of defaulters in May and provided a one-month grace period to settle debts. City Hall estimated unpaid land rates at Sh1 trillion.

Nairobi Revenue Service has so far collected Sh3.26 billion in land rates against a target of Sh7 billion.

The sum, albeit below target, contributes to Nairobi's record Sh12.26 billion for the 2023/24 financial year, the highest by a sub-national unit since advent of devolution.

During Tuesday Executive Committee meeting, Governor Sakaja also directed efforts to beautify Langata Cemetery, leveraging resources from the City Park tree nursery.

Further, Sakaja tasked the County Executive Committee Member for Finance to issue travel guidelines for local and foreign trips in a bid to ensure prudent utilisation of resources.