Kiambu Governor, Ferdinand Waititu. [Photo|nairobitimez2.com]
Kiambu county will in the next three months begin registering all property brokers as a measure to curb fraud that is estimated to be Sh3 billion annually.
The county was recently put on the spotlight after a report showed it to be the only Nairobi County neighbourhood to record a drop in quarter three prices of land with Limuru sub-county being hardest hit with a 5.7 percent fall.
According to Governor Ferdinand Waititu, knowing the brokers’ offices and their deals will enable the devolved unit to crack down on rogue brokers that their deal is to fraud the public.
“We are going to register all of them. We want to be aware of your office, the deals you are in, whether those properties you are offering in the market are genuine. We will assume the role of final authority on their authenticity,” noted Waititu.
The latest regulations come after Hassconsult, a real estate firm, reported a drop in land prices that were previously rising due to restriction on conversion of agricultural land to real estate.
Waititu has also noted that customer care desks will be set up in the county where a potential customer will be required to register the intended transaction with Kiambu County at a small fee.
“For a fee of Sh100, we will be executing searches for them and following it up with authenticating transaction documents. Land registries are devolved units and as a county government, we will bring sanity in this sector,” he said.
He also said that the malpractices by some brokers have been threatening local real estate sector for the past five years.