Private Construction Developers’ Capacity and Compliance to National Construction Authority Regulations: a Case of Nairobi County

Abstract

There are myriad of regulations that construction developers have to comply with including regulations concerning the environment, professional codes of practice, health and safety regulations, permits, tax and insurance laws. Due to these numerous regulations, construction developers may comply with some regulations and ignore others, for instance tax evasion, which is very common. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of private construction developers’ capacity on compliance to National Construction Authority’s regulations in Nairobi County. The study sought to determine how financial capacity influence private construction developers’ compliance to National Construction Authority regulations, to assess the level at which technological capacity influence private construction developers’ compliance to National Construction Authority regulations, to examine the extent to which human capacity influence private construction developers’ compliance to National Construction Authority regulations, to establish how culture influence private construction developers’ compliance to National Construction Authority regulations and to examine how combined capacity influence private construction developers’ compliance to National Construction Authority regulations. Research design that was used was descriptive survey. The target population was 3, 641 developers in Nairobi County. The sample size was computed using the Yamane formula. The study sample size was 360 respondents. Selection of the sample was done using systematic sampling method. A list of private construction developers in Nairobi County were retrieved from National Construction Authority records. This list was used to form a sampling frame and from the list developers were picked based on systematic sampling technique until sample size was reached. Collection of primary data was by use of semi structured questionnaires. Gathered quantitative information was analyzed using descriptive analysis like the mean, frequency and percentages. Presentation of the findings was by use of tables. The study determined the association between response and predictor variables by computing multiple regression analysis. The study found that financial capacity has a positive significant influence on compliance to National Construction Authority Regulations (β=0.303); technological capacity positively and significantly influences compliance to National Construction Authority Regulations β=0.291); human capacity positively and significantly influences compliance to National Construction Authority Regulations (β=0.375); and culture positively and significantly influences compliance to National Construction Authority Regulations (β=0.304). The study therefore recommends the need to ensure there is sufficient financial capacity to ensure that activities in construction site are implemented successfully and work progresses smoothly. Construction developers’ should embrace new technology, and ensure that they have knowledge regarding modern management and understand construction process and design; this will enhance management of construction projects. It is the responsibility of the government of Kenya to ensure that all registered constructors and construction workers are qualified which will enhance the quality of construction activities.