In July 2023, The Star ran a piece on building a house in Kenya from abroad. It described relatives sending fake photos to the people paying for the project, money for construction being pilfered, and a Kenyan who came home to find nothing had been built. None of that will surprise anyone who has sent money home for a house.
How to supervise construction works from abroad comes down to one rule: pay for work that someone independent has seen and signed off, never for work that has been promised or photographed. The rest of this guide is how to set that up before the first shilling leaves your account.
Before anything is built
Get the approvals in your name
Under section 57 of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019, nobody may carry out development in a county without development permission from the county. Starting without it is an offence, with a fine of up to KSh 500,000, up to two months in prison, or both. The county can order the land restored to its original state, and section 67 makes it an offence to build in a way that does not match the approved plans.
For you, that means two things. The application and approval should be in the name of the registered owner, which is you, and you should hold a copy of the approved drawings. Every inspection later is a comparison against those drawings. The county also applies the Physical and Land Use Planning (Building) Regulations, 2021, which cover things like where the building sits on the plot, building lines, plot coverage, height and drainage, so a builder who "adjusts" the plan on site can put the approval at risk.
Check who is building
Section 15 of the National Construction Authority Act says a person may not carry on business as a contractor without registration by the NCA Board, and the penalty is a fine of up to a million shillings, three years in prison, or both. There is an exception that matters for many diaspora builds: under section 16, a residential house for private use that does not need a structural design is not counted as contractor work.
So for a simple bungalow, your builder may lawfully be an unregistered fundi. For anything with a structural design, a storey building or rental units, the contractor should be NCA-registered in the right class of works, and you should check the registration yourself rather than accept a certificate photo.
Put it in a written contract
Whoever builds, there should be a written agreement covering the drawings it follows, the bill of quantities or itemised budget, the payment schedule, who buys materials, and what happens if work is late or defective. If the builder is a relative or family friend, write it down anyway. It protects the relationship when something goes wrong.
Stage payments that match inspections
Break the job into stages a third party can see and measure. A typical sequence for a house runs like this:
- Site clearing, setting out and foundation. Trenches, footings and the foundation slab or wall up to damp-proof course level.
- Walling to ring beam. Walls up to lintel and ring beam height, door and window openings in the right places.
- Roofing. Trusses, roof covering, fascia and gutters.
- Plaster, plumbing and electrical first fix. Pipes and conduits in the walls before plaster closes them up.
- Finishes. Floors, ceilings, doors, windows, painting, fittings.
- Completion and snag list. A final walk-through with defects listed and fixed.
Each stage gets a fixed amount in the contract. You pay that stage only after your inspector has visited, compared the work with the approved drawings and the budget, and sent you a written sign-off with dated photos. Keep back a small retention from each payment, released after a defects period, so the builder has a reason to return and fix problems.
Some things are much cheaper to check before they are covered. Reinforcement steel before concrete is poured, and pipes and conduits before plaster, are the obvious ones. Ask your inspector to visit at those points, not just at the end of a stage.
How to supervise construction works: who signs off each stage
The person who certifies the work should not be the person paid for it. That rules out the contractor, and it usually rules out the relative who found the contractor, however honest they are. Asking a brother to certify his friend's work puts him in an impossible position.
Depending on the size of the build, the inspector might be the architect who drew the plans, a structural engineer, a quantity surveyor or a clerk of works hired by you. Agree in writing what they check at each stage, how many visits are included, and that their report comes to you directly, not through the builder.
What proof to ask for
Photos on WhatsApp are easy to stage, reuse or borrow from someone else's site. Build your checks so they are hard to fake.
- Live video walk-throughs. A video call at a time you choose, starting at the gate or a fixed landmark, walking the whole site. Ask the person to show the neighbouring plots and the road so you can be sure you are looking at your land.
- The same photo points every time. Agree four or five fixed spots and angles. Progress shows up as change from the last set.
- Delivery notes and receipts. For cement, steel, blocks and roofing, ask for the supplier's delivery note matched to the budget line. Better still, pay suppliers directly from your own account against an invoice your inspector has approved.
- Written stage reports. One page from the inspector per stage: what was checked, what passed, what needs fixing.
- A visit when you can. Even one trip home mid-build tells everyone on site that the owner is watching. If you can time it to a stage inspection, go along.
Money: accounts, not people
The losses in that 2023 article came from money handed to people to spend on the owner's behalf. Change the flow.
- Pay the contractor's business account or the supplier directly, never a personal M-Pesa number for "materials".
- Release money stage by stage. A builder asking for 50 percent upfront is asking you to carry their risk.
- Keep a simple spreadsheet: stage, amount, date paid, inspector sign-off date. When the two dates do not line up, you will see it.
Questions people ask
How do I monitor construction site progress from abroad? Tie every payment to a stage inspection by an independent professional, ask for a short written report each time, and use live video calls that start from a fixed point on the site. Photos alone are not proof.
Do I need an NCA-registered contractor to build my house in Kenya? Under section 16 of the NCA Act, a residential house for private use that does not need a structural design is not treated as contractor work. Anything needing a structural design, and most larger projects, should use an NCA-registered contractor.
Can I build without county approval if the land is mine? No. Section 57 of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act requires development permission from the county, and building without it is an offence.
What is a fair stage payment schedule? There is no legal standard for private houses. The principle is that each payment matches work already completed and inspected, with a retention held back until defects are fixed. Your quantity surveyor can set the amounts against the budget.
Where Karibu fits
Before you build, the land underneath has to be right. Karibu checks title records, agent licences and asking prices by area, so you know the plot is registered to you and you paid a sensible price for it. If you are planning a build and want to talk through the checks on the land first, book a call with the team.
This week, write down the six stages for your build and the name of the person who will sign off each one.
Sources: Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019, sections 57 and 67. National Construction Authority Act, 2011, sections 15 and 16. Physical and Land Use Planning (Building) Regulations, 2021. The Star, on building a house from abroad, July 2023.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to an advocate about your situation.