Guide · Nairobi City County approvals · Updated 2026-10-19
Change of use (change of user) in Nairobi
A change of use, often called change of user, is the county’s permission to use land for something its current use does not allow — for example flats or offices where only single homes were approved. In Nairobi it is applied for online through NPDMS by a registered physical planner, and it comes before the building plans.
When you need it
- You want to use land or a building for a different purpose — a house to flats, homes to offices, a home to a school or a shop.
- A new use has already started without permission — the county files this as regularization.
Who applies
A registered physical planner prepares the application and submits it for the owner. The county’s system files it as “Technical” or “Administrative”. Applications are made online on the Nairobi Planning and Development Management System (NPDMS).
Check the plot before you apply
Most of what decides an application is already on the map. Check these first:
| Check | Where | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The plot and its number | Search the map by LR, block or FR number | The application is made against the plot’s number. Make sure the parcel on the map is the land you mean. |
| What the zone allows | Its zone page, or tap the plot on the map | The most floors, ground coverage, plot ratio and use. A proposal outside them is not approved as drawn. |
| The plot’s size | Tap the plot on the map | Each zone sets a smallest plot, and across Nairobi a plot under 0.05 ha can hold only one home. |
| The lease and its term | The title, and an official search on Ardhisasa | Many leases say what the land may be used for and for how long. |
| Rivers and road reserves | The rivers and roads layers on the map | Land along a river or inside a road reserve is generally not built on. |
| Who owns it | An official search on Ardhisasa | The owner, or someone they authorise, applies. |
How the application moves
- Prepare. Check the plot against its zone, the rivers and roads around it and any airport limit, then have the drawings or the application prepared by the registered professionals the kind of approval needs.
- Submit on NPDMS. The professionals submit online: the architect’s drawings, the engineer’s structural design, the physical planner’s application, each as a stage of its own where the kind of approval needs it.
- Invoicing. The county bills the fees and the application waits until they are paid.
- Circulation. The application is sent round the county’s departments for comment — planning, roads, water, environment and others as the plot needs. Each may approve it, ask for changes or add conditions.
- Decision. The county approves, approves with conditions, or rejects. An approval carries a PLUPA number and its conditions; read them, because the work must follow them.
- After approval. Build or use the land as approved, within the time the approval allows. Changes need approval of their own.
How long it takes
There is no fixed time. An application moves once it is complete and its fees are paid, and then waits on each department that must comment. Incomplete drawings, a plot that does not fit its zone, and unpaid invoices are the usual reasons for delay — so check the plot first, and follow your application’s stage on NPDMS.
After approval
Once the change of use is approved, an architect can prepare building plans for the new use. The approval comes with conditions to meet, such as time limits and payments.
Questions
How long does change of use approval take in Nairobi?
There is no fixed time. An application moves once it is complete and its fees are paid, and then waits on each department that must comment. Incomplete drawings, a plot that does not fit its zone, and unpaid invoices are the usual reasons for delay — so check the plot first, and follow your application’s stage on NPDMS.
What is the difference between change of use and extension of use?
A change of use replaces the land’s use with a new one. An extension of use keeps the existing use and adds another beside it — for example offices on part of a residential plot.
Who can apply for a change of use in Nairobi?
The owner applies, through a registered physical planner who prepares the application and submits it on NPDMS.
Is Nairobi Maps the county’s approval system?
No. Nairobi Maps is an independent map of Nairobi’s land and planning rules, for checking a plot before you apply. Applications are made to, and decided by, Nairobi City County on NPDMS.
Nairobi Maps is not part of Nairobi City County. This guide explains the usual route; requirements, fees and steps change, so confirm them with the county.
Keep going
- All Nairobi approvalsWhich approval you need, and how each one works
- Building plan approvalPermission to put up, extend or alter a building.
- Extension of usePermission to add a use and keep the existing one.
- Land subdivision approvalPermission to split one plot into several.
- Land amalgamationPermission to join plots into one.
- NEMA licencesThe environmental licence many projects also need
- Nairobi zoning by zoneFloors, plot ratio and plot size for all 123 zones