Nairobi residents are staring at a higher cost of living from July next year after members of the county assembly approved a sweeping five-year tariffs policy that will sharply raise charges.
The new policy framework paves the way for higher parking and business permit fees, among other charges, once fully adopted by the county executive.
Documents show it costs Nairobi about Sh520 to provide a single parking service, a figure that will guide future tariff adjustments in upcoming Finance Bills. While the policy does not immediately increase parking charges, it legally empowers the county to revise fees upward.
Revenue projections indicate a significant jump in expected parking collections in the next financial year.
County Receiver of Revenue Tairus Njoroge said the executive will take into account public views and recommendations before setting new charges.
“We will look at the economic outlook and affordability before coming up with any charges for the services we provide to residents,” Mr Njoroge said.
Under the 2025–2030 policy, daily parking fees are set to rise to Sh520, while some business permits will climb to Sh74,743—one of the steepest adjustments in years—piling pressure on households and enterprises already squeezed by inflation.
Majority Whip Moses Ogeto on Wednesday confirmed the assembly’s approval of the policy, which anchors all county fees on cost-mapping formulas rather than the patchwork of by-laws and annual Finance Acts that have shaped Nairobi’s revenue system for decades.
“The population has increased in Nairobi. We need to work on our revenue collection. That is why we need to make adjustments to the charges and levies for services we offer city residents. This policy will guide how the Finance Act is created, and we hope to serve residents better,” Mr Ogeto said.
Tariff and pricing policy
The policy collapses the county’s unwieldy array of trader licences into a Unified Business Permit, bundling fire, health and waste-collection charges previously paid separately.
The construction and upkeep of Nairobi’s 16,900 parking slots is valued at Sh3.54 billion, translating to an annual capital expense of Sh177 million and an estimated Sh520 to deliver a single parking service—forming the basis for future parking rates.
Approval of a building plan will be priced at Sh79,715 per application, derived from an annual Sh4.52 billion spend on salaries, ICT systems, inspection vehicles and insurance.
Access to public markets will also be cost-based: Sh4,152 per stall in Zone I markets and Sh2,349 in Zone II, figures drawn from the county’s Sh700 million annual spending on sanitation, lighting, security, waste collection and routine market maintenance.
The policy leans on Article 209(4) of the Constitution and Section 120 of the County Governments Act, which require counties to adopt a formal tariffs policy before imposing or revising fees.
Nairobi’s move comes barely a month after the High Court quashed the Nairobi County Finance Act 2023, forcing a reckoning over a statutory requirement many counties have long sidestepped.
The court held that any attempt to levy taxes, fees or charges must be anchored in a formal tariff and pricing policy.
At the heart of the ruling is Section 120, which obligates counties to map out the cost of each service before assigning a fee, ensuring service charges match actual service delivery costs.
Without these cost bases, the High Court said, attempts to raise or enforce charges amount to guesswork and expose taxpayers to arbitrary levies.
In striking down the Finance Act, he said that procedural lapses, inadequate justification and failure to disclose essential information rendered the law unconstitutional.
