MPs are considering a proposed law that would regulate the naming and numbering of streets, homes and buildings to streamline service delivery and improve planning.
The proposed legislation, The National Addressing Bill 2025, mandates counties and property developers to systematically name streets and assign numbers to buildings and homes in line with national guidelines.
The Bill by Kiambu MP John Machua proposes the creation of a special body that will oversee the process and provide a reliable and convenient way of locating and identifying properties.
By so doing, the proposed law seeks to support and improve service delivery as well as aid e-commerce.
It also aims to address the long-standing confusion and inconsistencies that have hampered postal services, emergency response, planning and even revenue collection.
Under the proposal, the National Addressing Council will be mandated with the enforcement of the national standards on addressing, encouraging use of technology like digital mapping and working closely with devolved units to see the system function.
“The enactment of the proposed legislation will ensure seamless naming and numbering of streets and properties, which will lead to improved identification and location of places, which will subsequently improve the country’s economy in terms of trade and revenue generation,” the Bill reads.
The Bill further seeks to establish the National Addressing Council and the County Addressing Committees.
Their functions shall include creating and managing the addressing system for the naming, numbering and allocation of addresses to streets and properties at the national and county level.
If passed, the law would mark the first comprehensive framework to guide street naming and house numbering in the country’s history, aligning Kenya with international best practices and boosting efficiency in both government and private sector operations.
The council will be made up of a non-executive chairperson chosen by the President, a vice-chairperson nominated by the Council of Governors, and principal secretaries from the ministries responsible for national addressing, finance and land and physical planning.
Other members will include the chairperson of the Kenya Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, two private individuals appointed by the ICT Cabinet Secretary based on their knowledge in ICT, planning, addressing or legal matters, and a registrar who will serve as the council’s secretary.
Members of the council, including the chairperson, will serve a three-year term, renewable once.
A similar plan was conceived in 2018 but failed to take off.
Under the Bill, county governments will have committees to create registries of all named streets and numbered properties within their jurisdiction.
The data will then feed into a national database.
Property owners will also be compelled to visibly display assigned numbers on their premises.
Machua argues that the measure is crucial for enhancing efficiency in public service delivery, noting that lack of clear addresses has been a major obstacle in areas such as law enforcement, ambulance response, parcel delivery and utility billing.
“The enactment of the proposed legislation will ensure seamless naming and numbering of streets and properties, which will lead to improved identification and location of places which will subsequently improve the country’s economy in terms of trade and revenue generation, particularly through e-commerce and enhanced tax collection,” Machua stated.
The Bill further proposes penalties for non-compliance, including fines for developers or homeowners who fail to adhere to the numbering regulations.
It also imposes a fine not exceeding Sh1 million on any person found vandalising any infrastructure developed under the proposed law.
