Lawyer Alfred Ndambiri has accused landlords and developers of openly defying county laws through rampant illegal constructions, warning that Nairobi is fast sliding into a public safety crisis fuelled by unchecked building alterations and unauthorized developments.
Ndambiri said thousands of property owners have brazenly ignored planning and public health regulations by erecting extensions, adding extra floors, repainting buildings and converting structures without mandatory county approvals, exposing themselves to arrest, prosecution and demolition orders.
“There is nothing informal about construction in law. Any alteration done without approval is illegal and punishable. Ignorance is not a defence,” he said.
He blamed poor supervision and deliberate evasion of inspections for the proliferation of structurally compromised buildings that fail basic fire, safety and sanitation standards, describing the trend as criminal negligence.
Ndambiri warned that once a landlord puts up a building, they assume full legal responsibility for every life housed within it.
Backing Ndambiri’s assertions, engineering consultant Michael Ochieng’ said the situation has been worsened by landlords who treat construction as a cost-cutting exercise rather than a safety obligation.
Ochieng’ noted that many private developments operate without professional oversight, resulting in blocked fire exits, overstretched structures and inferior materials that significantly increase the risk of collapse and deadly fires.
Ochieng’ further blamed selective enforcement and cosmetic compliance—where property owners only respond to notices but fail to permanently fix defects—for encouraging a culture of impunity. “Without consistent inspections and enforcement, landlords will keep gambling with human lives.
The danger is not theoretical; it is structural and immediate,” he said.
The experts warned that unless county governments enforce regulations uniformly and without political or financial interference, illegal constructions will continue to flourish at the expense of tenant safety and orderly urban development.