Court upholds Affordable Housing Act

Kenya’s Court of Appeal dismisses 42 consolidated challenges, cementing the legal foundation for Ruto’s flagship programme and its contested Housing Levy.

By David Kimani

Kenya’s Court of Appeal yesterday upheld the Affordable Housing Act as constitutional, dismissing 42 consolidated cases that had challenged the law and the Housing Levy deductions it mandates from workers’ salaries.

The ruling delivers a decisive legal victory for President William Ruto’s flagship development programme, which has faced sustained opposition from trade unions, civil society organisations and individual petitioners who argued that the levy amounted to an unconstitutional tax imposed without adequate public participation.

The bench rejected those arguments, finding the Act compliant with Kenya’s constitutional framework and clearing the way for the government to press ahead with its housing agenda without further legal disruption. The levy, deducted at 1.5% of gross salary from both employees and matched by employers, has been a lightning rod since its introduction — condemned by critics as an additional burden on already strained household incomes, and defended by the government as a necessary mechanism to finance affordable units for millions of Kenyans locked out of the formal housing market.

With less than a year to the August 2027 General Election, the timing of the ruling hands Ruto a political dividend as much as a legal one — allowing his administration to point to a programme that has survived the courts and is now beyond challenge.

The 42 petitioners may still pursue a further appeal to the Supreme Court.

The post Court upholds Affordable Housing Act appeared first on The Mt Kenya Times.