By now Evans Mutinda
The Interior Designers Association of Kenya, the Association of Construction Managers of Kenya and the Architects Alliance have jointly rejected the Architectural and Quantity Surveying Practitioners Bill, 2026, in its present form.
The organisations say they are not opposed to regulation, but are demanding a regulatory framework that recognises the distinct roles, competencies and responsibilities of different built-environment professions.
“We are not opposing regulation. We are demanding better regulation,” the organisations said.
Their main concern is that the proposed legislation seeks to regulate architects, quantity surveyors, interior designers, landscape architects, construction project managers and technicians through a single Board, despite the professions having different bodies of knowledge, education systems, competencies, scopes of practice and professional responsibilities.
The associations argue that one profession should not effectively regulate another, saying representation of a profession by a single member on a broad regulatory Board does not amount to meaningful professional self-regulation.
They have also raised concerns over provisions relating to professional scopes of practice, fees, education standards, examinations, licensing and disciplinary procedures.
According to the organisations, placing these functions under a regulatory structure that may not adequately reflect the specialist competence of each profession could lead to professional conflicts, duplication, uncertainty and weakened public protection.
The groups further called for Parliament to review previous research and proposals on the regulation of built-environment professions, including work undertaken through the Coalition of Built Environment Professionals and associated with Professor Alfred Omenya.
They said such research should be considered before Parliament proceeds with what they describe as a narrower regulatory model.
The organisations are calling on Parliament to suspend consideration of the Bill in its current form and initiate an inclusive national stakeholder process aimed at developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for Kenya’s built-environment professions.
They want the framework to establish clear scopes of practice, professional responsibilities and strong profession-specific regulatory structures while ensuring coordination across the sector.
The organisations also called for the immediate resignation of the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Publics, Hon. Joseph K. Taniu, who they identify as the sponsor of the Bill, citing what they describe as a conflict of interest.
“This is not a fight between professions. It is about getting regulation right,” the organisations said.
They maintained that Kenya needs coordinated regulation, professional autonomy, clear accountability and stronger public protection rather than a system based on professional hierarchy.
“Let us not legislate for yesterday’s construction industry. Let us legislate for the Kenya we are building tomorrow,” they said.
WE DEMAND
The undersigned organisations therefore respectfully call on the National Assembly to:
Reject the Architectural and Quantity Surveying Practitioners Bill, 2026, in its present form;
Refer the proposed regulatory reforms for comprehensive stakeholder review;
Cause previous research and policy proposals on the regulation of Built Environment Professions to be formally considered; and
Initiate an inclusive process towards comprehensive legislation for the regulation and coordination of Kenya’s Built Environment Professions.
