The Real Estate Regulation Bill was gazetted on 11 September 2023 and aims to regulate real estate agents, property developers, and land-buying companies that subdivide land for sale. It aims to professionalise the real estate sector and align it with global standards by emphasising transparency, accountability, and compliance.
The Bill further seeks to establish the Real Estate Board tasked with the licensing, regulation and registration of genuine estate agents and real estate development projects in Kenya. It will also assist with the maintenance of a public database containing information on all registered and unregistered or illegitimate real estate agents and projects.
This Bill also aims to create the office of the Registrar of Real Estate Agents and Projects, whose mandate shall be to oversee the registration and deregistration of real estate agents and development projects. Furthermore, the Bill intends to establish regulations governing the conduct of real estate agents and developers as well as set out the licensing requirements for real estate agents and projects.
Under the Bill, property developers will be bound by strict disclosure, transparency, and purchasers' indemnification obligations. Purchasers will be entitled to information relating to approved plans and specifications of real estate projects on sale so as to cushion them from unscrupulous developers and agents. To ensure compliance, the Bill intends to impose hefty pecuniary and punitive sanctions against developers and agents in breach of its provisions.
We would note that the Bill is yet to be tabled for its first reading in Parliament. Once tabled, an invitation will be issued to stakeholders to present memoranda or stakeholder views to the relevant Parliamentary House Committee.
Despite having elicited mixed reactions from various stakeholders in the real estate sector, the Bill is a welcome addition to the real estate laws in Kenya, and if passed into law, a shift towards a more transparent and highly regulated system is expected, with a greater potential of curbing, and ultimately eradicating fraudulent real estate transactions in Kenya.
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