Six Kenyans Take Housing Levy Fight to Supreme Court

President William Ruto During the Launch of Pioneer Housing Project in Eldoret

Six Kenyans have asked the Supreme Court to halt the mandatory 1.5 per cent Affordable Housing Levy. Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah leads the petitioners. They filed the appeal on Monday, November 9, 2026. The move puts President William Ruto's Affordable Housing Programme at risk of disruption.

The petitioners want the court to stop the deductions from workers' pay. They also want every shilling collected so far refunded. 

Their appeal asks the court to overturn earlier rulings that upheld the Affordable Housing Act. They argue that Kenyans should not have to pay for houses that many of them may never own.

The appeal names Sections 4 and 5 of the Act as unlawful. Those sections create the mandatory levy. The petitioners also want the Kenya Revenue Authority barred from collecting it. 

They say the deductions violate the right to property, and they describe the levy as an unfair burden on earners.

The petitioners quote the constitution's call for tax systems that are fair and do not place heavier loads on the poor. They say the levy breaks that principle. They ask the court to forbid the government from collecting it under the Act.

Their challenge goes beyond the deductions. The group also questions the use of public and community land for building homes that are later sold to private buyers. They further argue that the government did not seriously consider public views before passing the law.

The appeal follows a series of court defeats for the petitioners. The Court of Appeal upheld the Affordable Housing Act in a judgment delivered on September 25, 2026. That ruling overturned earlier arguments that the law was unconstitutional. 

The High Court had already dismissed similar petitions in October 2024. It found that public participation was adequate and that the 1.5 per cent contributions count as a valid levy.

The Supreme Court now has to decide whether to hear the case. Its ruling could determine whether the levy continues to fund the housing programme.