The Architects Alliance has opposed the proposed Architectural and Quantity Surveying Practitioners Bill, 2026, calling for separate legislation to regulate architects and other professionals in the built environment.
The alliance, led by its President, Senator Sylvia Kasanga, said the proposed law failed to adequately recognise the distinct technical responsibilities of different professions and address systemic challenges affecting the construction industry.
Kasanga, who presented the alliance’s proposals to the National Assembly Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works Committee in Nairobi on Saturday, said architects required an independent regulatory framework because of their responsibility for public safety.
She argued that architects, quantity surveyors, landscape architects, interior designers and construction project managers had different professional roles and obligations that could not be adequately addressed through a single regulatory structure.
“We maintain that the architect has the duty of care for public safety and therefore requires their own separate regulation,” Kasanga said.
She proposed the establishment of an overarching Built Environment Council to coordinate matters affecting the various professions, while allowing each profession to operate under its own legislation and regulatory framework.
The alliance expressed concern over the proposed establishment of a common council bringing together architects, quantity surveyors and other built environment professionals, questioning how the different technical disciplines would effectively address profession-specific issues under one board.
Kasanga said Kenya should review the existing regulatory arrangements, which she noted were established during the colonial era, to reflect current industry needs and international standards.
She argued that the continued regulation of architects and quantity surveyors under the same framework did not adequately reflect the differences in their professional mandates.
The alliance called on Parliament to reconsider the structure of the proposed legislation and adopt an approach that would promote professional accountability, public safety and effective coordination across the built environment sector.
“If it must continue, then the structure of the Bill has to change,” Kasanga said, adding that the alliance would submit further proposals to the committee.
She recommended that the proposed legislation be restructured into a Built Environment Council Bill, with individual professions subsequently operating under separate statutes that would provide for their regulation while maintaining coordination through the overarching council.
The Architectural and Quantity Surveying Practitioners Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 47 of 2026) seeks to repeal and replace the Architects and Quantity Surveyors Act, Cap. 525, and establish a comprehensive framework for the training, registration, enrolment, licensing and regulation of professionals in the built environment.
The proposed law seeks to extend the existing regulatory framework beyond architects and quantity surveyors to include landscape architects, interior designers, construction project managers and their respective technicians.
It also proposes to modernise professional regulation by addressing emerging developments in the sector, including green building technologies, climate change mitigation, artificial intelligence and design-and-build arrangements.