Govt Proposes KSh 50k Fine For Interior Designers Who Work Without Permits In New Bill

• The Institute Designers of Kenya Bill 2023 proposes that interior designers will need professional permits to work on real estate projects
• Institute of Designers of Kenya will be tasked with registering interior designers and creative graphic designers who meet the required professional and ethical standards
• Adrian Gachewa, a graduate architect from the University of Nairobi (UoN), told TUKO.co.ke in an exclusive interview that the new laws will disrupt business

A new bill has proposed that no individual shall carry on business as a practising interior designer unless he or she is registered as an interior designer.

The Institute Designers of Kenya Bill 2023 proposes that interior designers need professional permits to work on real estate projects.

If passed into law, it will grant the state power to register and publish the list of registered interior designers under the Institute of Designers of Kenya.

"Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding KSh 50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both," the bill states.

How Kenyan architect reacted to proposed bill

Adrian Gachewa, a graduate architect from the University of Nairobi (UoN), told TUKO.co.ke in an exclusive interview that the new laws will disrupt business.

He noted that most designers will be forced to seek professional education or opt out of the practice.

"It will most likely force a significant number of those in the practice to seek professional education or rather accreditation, which will simply see a number of the designers out of the practice entirely.

Gatekeeping will become a thing and the accredited designers will prefer to make it harder to get in so that they remain few and can keep their fees high. Costs will definitely rise because the designers are few plus now they have the papers and licences, which I suppose they will now be having to pay for occasionally," Gachewa explained.

Why NTSA plans to hike fees

Elsewhere, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) seeks to raise additional revenue to plug its budget deficit of KSh 2.37 billion.

The most substantial proposed fee increase is for changing the colour of a motor vehicle, with the cost set to rise to KSh 20,000 from KSh 500.

Matatu operators will feel the pinch as a passenger vehicle with a capacity of nine to 14 people will pay double licence fees from KSh 3,200 to KSh 6,400.