Kenya’s real estate industry is set for sweeping regulatory changes following two major developments aimed at tightening oversight and enhancing transparency across the sector.
During the week, President William Ruto assented to the National Land Commission (Amendment) Act, 2025, a law designed to strengthen the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of the National Land Commission (NLC).
The Act, which comes into effect on November 4, 2025, introduces reforms to improve the Commission’s handling of public land management and address long-standing issues in the sector.
Key provisions of the amended law include enhanced procedures for the review of grants and dispositions of public land, measures to resolve historical land injustices, and provisions to bolster the financial and administrative autonomy of the Commission.
The reforms are expected to improve governance in land transactions, streamline decision-making, and reduce bureaucratic delays that have often slowed land administration processes.
In a related move, the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) this week issued a directive requiring all real estate agents in Kenya to register with the Centre by November 14, 2025.
The order is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen compliance with anti–money laundering (AML) and counter–terrorism financing (CTF) regulations.
According to the FRC, the directive seeks to ensure that real estate businesses operate within national and international financial transparency standards.
The real estate sector has in recent years been identified as one of the high-risk areas for money laundering due to large cash transactions and gaps in reporting obligations.
The Centre emphasized that agents who fail to comply with the registration requirement will face sanctions as stipulated under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA).
With the twin actions — the enactment of the NLC (Amendment) Act and the FRC registration directive — the government is signaling a firmer stance on accountability, transparency, and ethical conduct in Kenya’s real estate market.
