Guide · Nairobi City County approvals · Updated 2026-10-19

Land subdivision approval in Nairobi

Subdividing land — splitting one plot into several — needs Nairobi City County’s approval before the new plots can be surveyed and registered. In the county’s system it goes in three steps: the subdivision application, its final approval and the subdivision certificate. Each new plot must be at least the zone’s smallest plot size.

Check your plot on the map Apply on NPDMS (Nairobi City County)

When you need it

You want to split a plot to sell, share or develop parts of it.
Land was split without approval — the county files this as regularization.

Who applies

A registered physical planner prepares the scheme and submits it; a licensed surveyor later surveys the new plots for registration. 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.
Each new plot’s size	The zone’s smallest plot, on its zone page	Every new plot must be at least that size — from 0.01 to 2 ha, depending on the zone. Below 0.05 ha a plot can hold only one home.
Access to each new plot	The roads layer on the map	Every new plot needs a way in from a road.
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.
The survey	The plot’s survey plan (FR) and index map sheet, on the map	The drawings must sit on the land as it was surveyed.
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

After the certificate, a licensed surveyor surveys the new plots, the survey plan is approved, and the Ministry of Lands issues the new titles.

Questions

How long does subdivision approval take in Nairobi?

What is the smallest plot I can subdivide to in Nairobi?

It depends on the zone. Each zone of the Development Control Policy 2026 sets a smallest plot, from 0.01 ha to 2 ha; the zone pages give each one. Across Nairobi, a plot under 0.05 ha can hold only one home.

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.