How to Check If a Kenya Housing Developer Is Properly Registered

A well-presented developer with a professional website, a polished sales team, and a showroom full of architectural renders can still be operating outside Kenya's regulatory framework. This happens more often than buyers expect.

Regulatory registration does not guarantee project delivery. But a developer who cannot demonstrate proper registration has gaps that compound the risk in a Kenya off-plan transaction. Here is what to check, where to check it, and what to do if a check fails.

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Step 1: BRS Company Registration Check

Every legitimate Kenya company must be registered with the Business Registration Service (BRS) under the Companies Act 2015.

Go to bizsearch.co.ke, the official BRS search portal. Enter the full company name as it appears on the marketing materials and the sale agreement.

What you are confirming:

• The company is registered and active, not struck off or under voluntary liquidation.
• The directors named in the marketing or the agreement match the registered directors on BRS.
• The company's registered address is real and traceable.
• The company was registered before the development project was marketed. A company registered last month that is marketing a multi-phase development with no prior history is a concern.

A discrepancy between the trading name and the registered name is common and not automatically a problem. Ask the developer to confirm which company is the contracting party. Make sure it is the registered entity, not a brand name that has no legal existence.

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Step 2: National Construction Authority (NCA) Registration

The National Construction Authority Act 2011 established the NCA as the body responsible for regulating the construction industry in Kenya. Developers and contractors must register with the NCA and obtain project licences for each construction project.

There are two separate checks here.

The first check is contractor registration. The company or the main contractor they have engaged should be registered as an NCA contractor in the appropriate category for the scale of work. Check at nca.go.ke using the contractor's name. Registration categories range from NCA 1 (largest) to NCA 8 (smallest). For a multi-unit residential development, you would expect NCA 1 to 3.

The second check is the project licence. Specific construction projects above a certain size require an NCA project licence. The developer should be able to provide the project licence number. You can verify this on the NCA portal.

A development proceeding without NCA registration has two implications. First, the construction is not being inspected against the NCA quality standards, which means defect risk is higher. Second, a building constructed without proper NCA registration may face complications in obtaining the occupation certificate needed before units can be legally occupied and titled.

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Step 3: County Building Approval

County governments in Kenya control planning and building approvals within their jurisdictions under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act 2019 and the County Government Act 2012.

A developer must obtain:

• Planning approval for the change of use or subdivision of land, if applicable.
• A building permit (building approval) for the specific structure to be built, issued by the County Planning and Building Control Department.

Ask the developer for the approved building plan reference number. This is the document approved by the county, not the architect's drawings. They are different. The architect's drawings are a proposal. The county-approved building plan is the legally permitted structure.

For Nairobi developments, approvals are managed through the City County of Nairobi. For Kiambu, through the County Government of Kiambu. For Mombasa, through the City County of Mombasa.

A development being marketed without county building approval means the design you are buying has not been approved for construction. The approved structure, when approval eventually comes, may differ from what you were sold.

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Step 4: LSK Practising Certificates for the Conveyancing Team

Every advocate involved in a Kenya property transaction must hold a current practising certificate issued by the Law Society of Kenya for the relevant year.

Ask the developer to provide the name of the conveyancing advocate handling the transaction and their LSK number.

Check that number at lsk.or.ke to confirm the advocate is in good standing and their practising certificate is current. A practising certificate lapses each year and must be renewed.

This matters for two reasons. First, an advocate without a current practising certificate is not legally authorised to conduct conveyancing. Any instruments they prepare may be challengeable. Second, the conveyancing advocate is required under the LSK AML/CFT guidelines 2025 to conduct customer due diligence on the developer and the transaction. An advocate in good standing is subject to LSK oversight and professional accountability. An advocate without a current certificate is not.

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Step 5: NSE Disclosure Requirements for Listed Developers

Several Kenya property developers are either listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) or have raised funds through Capital Markets Authority (CMA)-regulated instruments.

If the developer or its parent company is NSE-listed, you have access to significant additional disclosure. NSE-listed companies are required to file annual reports, half-year financial statements, material event disclosures, and board changes. These are available on the NSE portal at nse.co.ke or on the company's investor relations page.

If the developer has raised funds through a CMA-approved investment product, the CMA maintains a register of approved collective investment schemes and fund managers. You can check whether the entity offering you an investment-structured off-plan arrangement is CMA-regulated at cma.or.ke.

A developer marketing "returns" or describing your purchase as an "investment" in a way that suggests capital gains or profit-sharing may be offering a capital markets product that requires CMA approval, regardless of how it is labelled.

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What a Regulatory Gap Should Mean for Your Decision

A developer who cannot produce confirmation of all five of the above is not necessarily committing fraud. They may be operating in a regulatory grey zone that many small Kenya developers occupy.

But each gap adds risk:

No BRS registration: you cannot sue the entity that took your money, only a director personally.

No NCA registration: the building may not achieve the occupation certificate needed to issue titles.

No county approval: the structure may not conform to what was approved, causing complications at completion.

No LSK-registered advocate: the conveyancing may be defective and challengeable.

For NSE-listed developers: the absence of required disclosures may indicate regulatory issues with the parent company.

A developer who cannot or will not provide documentation on any of these items should be asked to explain the gap in writing before any payment is made.

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The Litmus Layer Before Registration Checks

Before you run any of the above checks, verify the land itself. All five of these regulatory confirmations relate to the company and its project. None of them tells you whether the land under the development is clean.

A fully NCA-registered, county-approved developer building on charged land is still a serious risk. Litmus verifies the parcel: ownership, charges, cautions, and physical condition if you want a field visit.

KSh 21,500 for standard title verification. KSh 25,500 with field visit.

Start a verification →

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This article is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified Kenya conveyancing advocate before any property transaction.