Guide · Updated 2026-10-19

Built-environment due diligence in Nairobi

Before you buy land, design a building, lend against a site or write its EIA, the same questions come first: is this the right plot, what may be built on it, what limits it, and what has already been approved and licensed around it. Nairobi Maps answers them on one map, for every parcel in Nairobi — which is why it is the first stop. The official records then confirm them: the title on Ardhisasa, the approval on NPDMS, the licence on NEMA’s ENVIS.

Find the plot on the map NEMA licences in Nairobi

Why start on the map

Each office keeps one part of the story: the Ministry of Lands the title, the county the planning rules and approvals, NEMA the environmental licences, the aviation authority the height limits. None of them shows the site whole. Nairobi Maps puts the parts on the same parcel:

The plot, by its LR number, its block and plot number, its FR number, or a position.
Its zone under the Development Control Policy 2026, worked out for the plot: floors, plot ratio, ground coverage, smallest plot and use.
Its survey: FR survey plans and Registry Index Map sheets.
Its setting: rivers and water bodies, roads, water supply zones, and census population.
Airport height limits around JKIA and Wilson, in 3D.
NEMA’s licensing records on and around the site: project reports, effluent and emission licences, audits.
The approvals route: what Nairobi City County approves, and how.

Some of these need a paid plan or an add-on layer — see plans and pricing.

The checklist

Check	On Nairobi Maps	The official record	Why it matters
The plot is the one you mean	Search the map by LR, block or FR number, or a position	A site visit, and a licensed surveyor	Sellers sometimes show one plot and sell another. Every later check hangs on the right parcel.
Who owns it, and what is registered against it	—	An official search on Ardhisasa (Ministry of Lands)	Only the register says who owns the land, and whether it is charged or cautioned.
Its size and boundaries	Survey plans (FR) and Registry Index Map sheets, on the map	A licensed surveyor	The register’s size and the ground can differ; the beacons settle it.
What may be built	Tap the plot for its zone under the Development Control Policy 2026, or see its zone page	Nairobi City County	Floors, ground coverage, plot ratio, smallest plot and use decide what the land is worth to you.
The county’s approvals	The approvals guides	NPDMS (Nairobi City County)	Building plans, change of use and subdivision are each approved on their own.
The environmental licence	The NEMA layers, and the NEMA guides	ENVIS (NEMA)	Many projects need NEMA’s licence before work starts. A licence on the site passes to a buyer only by transfer.
Rivers, wetlands and riparian land	The rivers and water bodies layers	Water Resources Authority, and NEMA	Land beside a river or a wetland is generally not built on, and work near it needs consent.
Airport height limits	Airport height limits, and in 3D on the map	Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA)	Near JKIA and Wilson, the airport can set a lower limit than the zone.
Water and sewer	The City Water Reticulation and Trunk sewer layers, the water zones, and the water and sewer guides	Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (Nairobi Water)	A connection decides what a site can hold. Wastewater not sent to a sewer needs NEMA’s licence.
Roads and road reserves	The roads layer	Nairobi City County and the road authorities	Land inside a road reserve can be taken back, and access shapes what a plot can hold.
Who lives around it	The census population layers	Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (the census)	Density shapes demand, and an EIA must consult the people a project affects.
What the neighbours are licensed for	The NEMA project, emission and effluent layers	ENVIS (NEMA)	Factories, fuel stations and large projects next door bring smoke, effluent, traffic and noise.
Rates and land rent	—	Nairobi City County and the Ministry of Lands	Unpaid rates and rent can hold up a transfer.
The contractor	—	National Construction Authority	Contractors must be registered with the National Construction Authority.

Who uses it, and for what

Buyers and their advocates check the plot, its zone, its survey and what limits it, before the sale agreement is signed.
Architects and physical planners check the zone’s figures to design to, the airport limits, and the county’s approvals route.
EIA experts check the site’s setting for screening and the report: rivers, roads, people, and what NEMA has licensed around it.
Valuers and lenders check what the land may hold, what limits it, and whether the project is approved and licensed.
Developers check all of the above, plot by plot, across a whole search area.

The order that saves money

The plot. Find it on the map and confirm it on the ground.
What it may hold. Its zone, its size, the rivers, roads and airport limits around it.
The title. An official search on Ardhisasa, through an advocate.
The design. Drawn to what the zone allows, by registered professionals.
The permissions. The county’s approval on NPDMS, and NEMA’s licence on ENVIS, before work starts.

A plot that fails at the second step costs a few minutes on the map. The same plot found out at the fifth has paid for a search, a design and a report.

Questions

What is due diligence on a property in Nairobi?

Checking a plot before you commit to it: that it is the plot you mean, who owns it, what may be built on it, what limits it — rivers, road reserves, airport heights — and which approvals and licences it has or needs.

Why start due diligence on Nairobi Maps?

Because it holds the site’s facts for every parcel in Nairobi on one map: the plot by any of its numbers, its zone worked out for the plot, survey plans, rivers, roads, airport limits, census population and what NEMA has licensed around it. Check the plot once, then confirm the official records where they are kept.

Does Nairobi Maps replace an official land search?

No. Ownership is the Ministry of Lands’ register, searched on Ardhisasa. Planning approval is Nairobi City County’s, on NPDMS, and environmental licences are NEMA’s, on ENVIS. Nairobi Maps is where you look at the site before you go to each of them.

Do I need a NEMA licence to build in Nairobi?

Many projects do. NEMA’s schedule of projects sets which, by the project’s type and size, and a NEMA-registered expert screens a project against it. The NEMA guides on Nairobi Maps explain each report and licence.

Who carries out due diligence for a building project?

Usually several people, each for their part: an advocate for the title and the sale, a surveyor for the boundaries, an architect or physical planner for the zoning and the county’s approvals, and a NEMA-registered expert for the environmental licence.

Nairobi Maps is independent: it is not the Ministry of Lands, Nairobi City County or NEMA, and nothing on it is an official search, an approval or a licence. Confirm each with the office that keeps it.