This Act may be cited as the Housing Act.
In the absence of the chairman from any meeting of the Corporation, a person shall be chosen by the members present at the meeting, from their number, to preside at such meeting.
The quorum of the Corporation shall be four members, of whom at least two shall be public officers and at least two shall be persons who are not public officers.
The person acting as chairman of any meeting of the Corporation shall have a deliberative vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote. A decision of the majority of the members present and voting at a meeting of the Corporation shall be deemed to be the decision of the Corporation.
The Corporation shall have power to act notwithstanding a vacancy among the members thereof, and all acts done at any meeting of the Corporation shall, notwithstanding that it was afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of a person purporting to be a member of the Corporation, be as valid as if that defect had not existed.
Subject to this section, the Corporation shall have power to regulate its own procedure.
The seal of the Corporation shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Corporation, or any other member of the Corporation, authorized in that behalf, and the officer for the time being the managing director of the Corporation, and such seal shall be officially and judicially noticed.
All documents, other than those required by law to be under seal, made by, and all decisions of the Corporation may be signified under the hand of the chairman, or any other member of the Corporation authorized in that behalf. [Act No. 18 of 1967, ss. 5, 10, Act No. 22 of 1987, Sch.]
The Corporation shall cause to be kept proper books of accounts, records and vouchers in relation to its funds and activities, and shall, within four months (or such longer period as the Minister may approve) after the end of each financial year, cause to be prepared, signed and transmitted to the auditor—
a capital account;
a balance sheet;
a statement of income and expenditure; and
such other accounts as the Minister may require.
The accounts of the Corporation shall be examined, audited and reported upon annually by the auditor.
The Corporation shall, when required by the auditor so to do, produce and lay before the auditor all accounts of the Corporation, with all vouchers in support thereof, and all books, papers and writings in its possession or control relating thereto, and the auditor shall be entitled to require from all members, officers and servants of the Corporation such information and explanations as he may deem necessary for the purposes of his duties as auditor.
The Corporation shall, within a period of six months (or such longer period as the Minister may approve) after the end of each financial year, furnish to the Minister a report on its operations during that year, the accounts, balance sheet and statement referred to in subsection (1) of this section, and the auditor’s report for that year.
The reports furnished under subsection (4) of this section, and the capital account and such accounts and statements as the Minister deems sufficient, shall be laid by the Minister before the National Assembly within the next fourteen days on which the Assembly is sitting after they have been so furnished, and shall be published in the Gazette by the Corporation.
For the purposes of this section— “auditor” means the Auditor-General (Corporations); “financial year” means any period of twelve months which the Corporation may adopt as its financial year for accounting purposes: Provided that, where at any time the financial year of the Corporation is changed, the period between the end of the old financial year and the beginning of the new shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to constitute a financial year and the word “annually” in subsection (2) shall be construed accordingly. [Act No. 42 of 1960, s. 4, Act No. 9 of 1967, Sch., Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10, Act No. 12 of 1985, Sch.]
The Corporation shall keep all moneys belonging to it in a bank approved by the Minister. [Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 6.]
The Corporation may guarantee the repayment of the principal money and interest and other charges in respect of any loan which has been made to a personfor the purpose of enabling him to buy or construct an approved dwelling or to carry out an approved scheme, upon—
that person entering into an agreement with the Corporation to reimburse to it any money which it is called upon to pay under the guarantee; and
security being provided for the due performance of such agreement.
Security to be provided under subsection (1)(b) shall be—
a right of pre-emption of the property given to the Corporation by the first mortgagee; and
such other security (if any) as the Minister may in any particular case authorize.
Any moneys which the Corporation is called upon to pay under guarantee given under subsection (1) of this section shall be provided from the National Housing Development Fund. [Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 8, Act No. 23 of 2019, s. 59.]
Where a loan is made by the Corporation to meet any expenditure of a local authority which is chargeable to a particular account, there shall be debited to that account all sums required for repayment of the principal of the loan, or for payment of interest thereon. [Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
Every loan made under this Act shall be repayable by such instalments as the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, shall specify and within a period not exceeding forty years or such other period as may be prescribed by the Minister.
Where a loan has been made repayable within a period less than the full period allowed by subsection (1) of this section, the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, if the repayment of the loan with interest is in its opinion sufficiently secured, may extend the period for the repayment thereof to a period not exceeding the full period from the date of the loan. [Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
Subject to the provisions of this section, every loan made to a company, society or individual person shall be secured by a first mortgage or charge over the land on which the dwelling is to be constructed or is situate or, as the case may be, over the land acquired for the approved scheme, together with all the buildings and improvements on such land, and on such further security or on any other security, as the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, may require.
The Corporation may prescribe the form of such first mortgage or charge, and the affixation of the seal of the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, to any mortgage or charge purporting to be made under the provisions of this Act shall be conclusive evidence that the same is in the prescribed form.
Any loan may be made notwithstanding that the land in respect of which the loan is made has not been surveyed or that such a map or plan of the land as any officer concerned with the registration of the title to or the title deeds of such land is bound to accept for the purpose of registering any dealing with the land is not, for the time being, registered or available for registration.
Upon making such a loan the Corporation, or the local authority, as the case may be, may require the execution of such documents as will ensure—
that the loan will, immediately upon the issue or completion of such grant, lease, purchase or other acquisition as aforesaid, become secured as a first mortgage or charge upon the land in favour of the Corporation or local authority;
that, pending the creation of such first mortgage or charge, no mortgage or charge of the land which would or might rank in priority thereto shall be created. [Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
Upon all money due upon any loan being fully paid, the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, shall, when required, give to the local authority, company, society or individual person as aforesaid a receipt in writing for the same, and such further sufficient discharge (if any) as may be necessary, and upon such receipt being given the rates and revenues of the local authority or the land mortgaged or charged, as the case may be, shall be released from the charge created by section 8 of this Act, or the first mortgage or charge, as the case may be.[Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
The rate of interest payable on a loan made by a local authority shall not exceed the rate of interest which the local authority is liable to pay in respect of the money from which the loan has been made by more than one-half percentum, and such loans or instalments thereof shall bear interest from the date of issue.
If an individual person to whom, or a company or society to which, a loan has been made—
fails to pay any amount due in respect of the principal or interest of the loan; or
has not applied the whole or any part of the loan to the specific purpose for which it was made; or
fails to make such progress as the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, considers reasonable with an approved dwelling or approved scheme; or
fails to comply with any condition on which the loan or any part thereof was made; or
becomes bankrupt, or is placed in liquidation,
the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, may either proceed to recover the amount outstanding on account of the loan together with all interest due thereon, by action in a competent court, or may, by an officer authorized in writing by it and without obtaining any judgment or order of any court, enter upon and take possession of the land and premises on which the loan is secured, using force, if necessary, for that purpose; and may thereupon sell, by public auction or after public tender, the said land and premises and transfer it to the purchaser and give a good and valid title thereto notwithstanding that such land and premises may have been mortgaged or charged in favour of some other person:
Provided that—
if the land and premises are so mortgaged or charged, the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, shall transmit to the second or subsequent mortgagee or chargee at his last known abode or office or place of business, three weeks before the date fixed for the sale, notice by prepaid registered post of such intention in order that such mortgagee or chargee may redeem the loan, if he so desires;
except in the event of the bankruptcy of the person, or the liquidation of the company or society as aforesaid, the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, shall before exercising its power of entry and sale hereunder, give three months’ notice by prepaid registered letter addressed to such individual person at his last known place of abode or office or business, or to such company or society at its office or place of business, of its intention as aforesaid.
If any such dwelling is not completed, the Corporation or the local authority, as the case may be, may in its discretion complete the same before such sale. The proceeds of such sale shall be applied in payment of all sums due to the Corporation or the local authority, including the cost of completing any such dwelling and of the sale; and the balance (if any) shall be paid to the individual person to whom, or the company or society to which, the loan was made or to any other person who is the legal representative thereof or is otherwise entitled to receive such balance.
The Corporation or a local authority may itself purchase any land and premises sold by public auction as aforesaid and take transfer of any dwelling sold as aforesaid and treat the same as if it had been constructed by the Corporation or by the local authority under this Act, and no stamp duty or registration charges shall be payable on transfer to the Corporation or to the local authority.
Any officer having any duties in connexion with the registration of the title to or the title deeds of any such land and premises as aforesaid shall make all the necessary entries in his registers and sign all documents necessary to give effect to this section.
The Minister for the time being responsible for Local Government may, on the application of the Corporation, declare that any by-law or resolution made by a local authority which is inconsistent with the conditions of approval specified by the Corporation in respect of any dwelling or scheme, shall, in so far as it is inconsistent, not apply to the approved dwelling or scheme. [Act No. 42 of 1960, s. 5, Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
Whenever it appears to the Minister, and after a local inquiry in public by an officer appointed by the Minister for that purpose at which the local authority and other parties interested shall be entitled to be heard, that the provision made in the area of any local authority for the needs of persons ordinarily employed within that area for normal requirements is inadequate or unsuitable, the Minister may, by written notice, require that local authority, within such time as may be stated in the notice, to make such provision for the housing of such persons as the Minister may specify. [Act No. 42 of 1960, s. 6, Act No. 9 of 1967, Sch., Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
Upon the failure of a local authority within the time fixed in any notice given under section 20 of this Act or within any extension of that time granted by the Minister to comply with any requirement notified under that section, the Minister may, after written notice to the local authority, carry out such works and do all such things as may be necessary to give effect to that requirement; and for that purpose the Minister is hereby authorized to exercise all such rights, powers and authorities as might have been exercised by the local authority in that behalf.
Any expenditure reasonably incurred by the Minister under this section in excess of revenue derived from the exercise of the powers vested in him may be recovered in the manner provided by section 9 of this Act. [Act No. 9 of 1967, Sch., Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
The Corporation may, and shall when required by the Minister or the local authority, inquire into and report to the Minister or the local authority on the necessity or otherwise of the provision of dwellings in the area of any local authority.
The Corporation shall advise and assist in the preparation of proposals for dwellings and schemes.[Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
The Corporation may, with the consent of the Minister, borrow any moneys which it requires for the purpose of exercising its functions under this Act in such amount and upon such conditions as the Minister may sanction. [Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 10.]
The Minister may from time to time make regulations for prescribing anything which may require to be prescribed under this Act, and for the better carrying out of the objects and purposes of this Act, and such regulations may be expressed to apply throughout Kenya or in any specified or defined portion thereof.
Such regulations may provide penalties for any contravention thereof or failure to comply therewith not exceeding a fine of ten thousand shillings or to imprisonment for two years or to both.
Any member of the Corporation and any officer or servant of a local authority generally or specially authorized by such local authority, and any person likewise authorized by the Minister, may, at any hour reasonable for the proper performance of the duty, enter upon any land or building in respect of which a grant or loan has been made or undertaken to be made under this Act to make any inspection or to perform any work or to do anything which he is required or authorized to do under regulations made under this Act.
Any person who fails to give or refuses access to any person mentioned in or authorized under subsection (1) of this section or obstructs or hinders him in the execution of his duties under the regulations made under this Act, or who prevents any servant or workman of a local authority from entering any such land or dwelling for the purpose of complying with any requirements under the regulations made under this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
A person convicted of an offence under this Act shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.
Where an act or omission of a person results in the loss of money from the National Housing Development Fund, that person shall be liable to a penalty equivalent to twice the amount lost.[Act No. 23 of 2019, s. 62.]
The provisions of this Act shall be deemed to be in addition to and not in substitution for any provisions of any other law which are not in conflict or inconsistent with this Act; and if the provisions of any law are in conflict with or inconsistent with this Act the provisions of this Act shall prevail.
Nothing in this Act shall—
deleted by Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 9;
prejudice or affect the priority of any security for a loan created by any local authority before the date of the commencement of this Act. [Act No. 9 of 1967, Sch., Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 9.]
Notwithstanding the amendments introduced by section 4 of this Act, the persons who immediately before the commencement of this Act were members of the Central Housing Board shall upon such commencement become members of the National Housing Corporation, and shall remain such members until new members of the National Housing Corporation, are appointed in accordance with such amendments or until the expiration of one month from such commencement, whichever is earlier. [Act No. 18 of 1967, s. 11.]