What land rates are
Land rates are an annual property tax charged by counties on the Unimproved Site Value (USV) of land within their boundaries. The USV is the value of the land excluding any buildings, set by a county valuation roll updated periodically.
Typical county rates (2026)
- Nairobi: 0.115% residential, 0.25% commercial
- Mombasa: 0.10% to 0.25% by zone
- Kisumu: 0.075% to 0.20%
- Nakuru: 0.10% to 0.20%
- Most rural counties: 0.05% to 0.10%
Confirm with your county\'s finance department; rates have moved in several counties in recent finance acts.
Worked example
Consider a residential plot in Kilimani (Nairobi), USV KES 12,000,000, rated at 0.115% residential. Annual land rate = 12,000,000 × 0.00115 = KES 13,800 per year. Paying by 31 March (Nairobi\'s current early-bird window) gets a 10% rebate, dropping the bill to roughly KES 12,420. Ignoring the notice into July stacks a 1.5% per-month penalty, adding roughly KES 200 per month.
How it is calculated
Annual land rates = USV × county rate percentage. The USV comes from the county valuation roll (published every 5 to 10 years). The rate percentage is set by each county\'s current Finance Act. We do not include the rebate or penalty in the base calculator, factor those in manually based on when you pay.
How to pay
Most counties accept land rates via dedicated paybill or county portal. Nairobi uses paybill 339900 (Nairobi County eServices). Check our county paybill directory or your county website for the right number.
Penalties for late payment
Most counties charge a 1 to 2% per month penalty on outstanding rates. Long-standing arrears can lead to inability to transfer the property in the lands registry. Settling annually in January avoids penalties.