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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Property briefs


Kenya Revenue Authority's headquarters at Times
Kenya Revenue Authority's headquarters at Times Tower in Nairobi. Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has started hiring agents to collect data on buildings and their owners to establish if they are tax-compliant. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP  NATION MEDIA GROUP
By KIARIE NJOROGE
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NAKURU MEADOWS PROJECT: Private equity firm Phatisa is set to fund the construction of 140 residential houses in Nakuru in a deal with real estate developer Tamarind Properties. The
houses, which will cost between Sh10.8 million and Sh13.5 million, will be located along the Nairobi—Nakuru highway at Lanet.
The 10-acre project, dubbed Nakuru Meadows, will be done in two phases; the first phase will contain 104 units and the second 36 units. It is expected to take 24 months to build.
Phatisa will fund the project through its Pan African Housing Fund. Nakuru’s growing population has created a housing shortage in the town, pushing up land, rent and buying prices for houses and in turn attracting real estate developers eyeing the demand.
SH1 MILLION FINE: Owners of some 2,450 commercial buildings could be thrown in jail or fined heavily for failing to conduct energy audits on their premises.
The defaulting landlords have been issued with letters and notifications by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) asking them to comply with the deadline, which expired on September 28 this year. The Energy (Management) Regulations 2012 stipulate that buildings which consume an average 15,000 Kilowatt hours (kWh) per month or 180,000 kWh annually ought to conduct consumption assessment.
ERC has said that so far, only 1,050 of 3,500 buildings have complied.
Those who fail to comply risk a fine of up to Sh1 million, a one-year jail term or both upon conviction by a court. The audits are designed for facilities like malls, agricultural industries, cement factories, universities, hospitals and big hotels as energy saving measures with the aim of increasing production. The campaign aims to cut their energy consumption by up to 50 per cent. The assessments cost about Sh100,000 and above, depending on the size of the premises.
Kempinski cites pollution concerns in row with Avic over complex: Works on the Sh9.6 billion Avic complex along Chiromo Road have been put on hold following a complaint from the neighbouring Kempinski Hotel over environmental concerns. Kempinski last week secured orders from the National Environmental Tribunal stopping construction of the complex until an appeal it has filed against Avic is heard and determined.
The hotel says Avic has not explained how it plans to deal noise pollution, storm water drainage and air quality issues during construction.
Avic, a Chinese manufacturing giant, recently moved to start construction of the complex, which includes a 35-floor hotel, barely 100 metres from Kempinski.
The complex, which also includes a 43-floor office block and four apartment towers, will double up as Avic’s Africa headquarters. It also includes two apartment blocks of 24 storeys, while another two will have 25 and 28 floors respectively.

TAXMAN RECRUITS AGENTS TO IDENTIFY TAX-EVADING LANDLORDS: Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has started hiring agents to collect data on buildings and their owners to establish if they are tax-compliant. This will see the Authority net landlords who have not been paying rental income tax. KRA expects to rope in 20,000 building owners and collect no less than Sh3 billion by June next year.
The data collected is expected to build a database that KRA will use to demand taxes from the landlords going forward even as it adds more properties in coming years.
Those hired will include independent agents, but KRA is also seeking to recruit property management companies who normally collect rent on behalf of landlords.

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