Can you get your Housing Levy back?
Affordable Housing Act · sources read 5 Oct 2026
The Affordable Housing Act 2024 has no refund for the 1.5% Housing Levy itself: it goes into the Affordable Housing Fund to build and maintain affordable housing. Only voluntary savings you make towards a house deposit can be withdrawn, on 90 days' written notice with any interest, if you have not been allocated a unit.
- Deadline
- 90 days' written notice to withdraw voluntary savings.
- Where
- The agency holding your voluntary savings in the Affordable Housing Fund, and the Affordable Housing Board for allocation
Steps
- If you save voluntarily for a deposit, the Fund's administrator gives you your own savings account number. Keep it.
- If you have not been allocated a unit, give the agency 90 days' written notice to get your savings refunded with any interest earned.
- Instead of withdrawing, you can apply to the Board for an affordable mortgage to build a rural affordable housing unit.
- To get a unit, apply to the Affordable Housing Board in the specified manner once you meet the eligibility criteria.
Watch out
- The levy is not a personal savings account: the Fund's money is for designing, building and maintaining affordable and institutional housing.
- A rural housing mortgage requires you to agree that your saved deposits and the land will be used as collateral.
- When allocating units the Board gives preference to marginalised and vulnerable groups, youth, women and persons with disabilities.
Who this covers
- People who made voluntary savings with the Affordable Housing Fund and have not been allocated an affordable housing unit.
- Any eligible person can make voluntary savings with the Fund to raise a deposit for an affordable housing unit.
Official sources (1)
- Affordable Housing Act, No. 2 of 2024 new.kenyalaw.org · read 5 Oct 2026