The Effect of a Polycentric System of Governance on the Building Approval Process

Purpose: Building approvals are a key determinant of real estate development in Kenya. These approvals are nested at different jurisdictional levels leading to a complex institutional arrangement of building approval decision making. This leads to a cumbersome, and in some instances, duplicated process. This paper examines the experience of real estate developers in Kenya with the institutional arrangement of the building approval process. Design/Methodology: Using qualitative research methods, we analyse 30 questionnaires administered to real estate developers in Nairobi County. Our findings indicate that the approval process is governed by a complex institutional arrangement. In its current form, this complex institutional arrangement is unable to deliver the building approval permits in a timely manner leading to delayed real estate project commencement and development cost variations. Limitations: While the paper is limited to the real estate developer’s perspective of the approval process it makes two key contributions. First, it offers empirical insight into the need to streamline the approval process to enhance real estate investment. Second, the paper provides important empirical evidence on the need to have an integrated building approval one-stop shop where all approvals can be integrated and housed in a central location.Contribution/Value: This paper therefore contributes to the policy justification for streamlining and integrating the real estate development approval processes in Kenya.