A survey conducted by Trends and Insights for Africa (TIFA) has revealed that majority of Kenyans do not believe they will get houses under President William Ruto’s Housing Fund.

The survey released on Tuesday by TIFA revealed that expectations that those who pay the new housing levy will ever get a house are quite low as compared to those who do not expect to get a house.

The survey which was conducted on a total of 1,500 respondents spread across the counties revealed that, 54 per cent do not expect to get a house, while only 11 per cent expected to.

15 per cent of the respondents said they possibly will or will not get a house, while sixteen per cent were unsure.

“Expectations are markedly shaped by political alignment, however, with five times more government supporters certain they will get a house (20 per cent) as compared to opposition supporters (4 per cent),” read the findings.

The survey was conducted between June 23 and 30 also found that only three per cent of Kenyans earn an income above Ksh.50,000 a month while 38 per cent of Kenyans do not have a monthly income.12 per cent of the respondent's bored that they earn less than Ksh.5,000.

Those earning between Ksh.5,000 and Ksh.10,000 were 12 per cent of the respondents, while 13 per cent earn between Ksh.10,000 and Ksh.20,000.

Some 10 per cent earn between Ksh.20,000 and Ksh.50,000 while 11 per cent said they are not sure.

TIFA found a correlation between monthly income and the expectation of being liable to pay into the new housing fund, in that Kenyans earning a monthly income of over Ksh.50,000 make a majority of those expecting to pay the 1.5 per cent housing levy.

“It is striking that even among those currently earning nothing, one quarter has such an expectation (25 per cent) while only slightly more than twice that proportion (59 per cent) in the highest income group do so,” said the report.

Researchers attributed this to the fact that only those in the formal sector, whose employers will be obliged to match their 1.5 contributions, fall within its mandatory deduction category.

Some 184 MPs voted in support of the housing tax while 72 opposed it in a heated debate between the Kenya Kwanza allied MPs and their counterparts from the Azimio opposition coalition.

President Ruto later assented to the Finance Bill 2023, paving the way for employees to be charged a 1.5 per cent tax on their gross salary starting July.

However the enactment of the Act has since been suspended by the High Court, following a petition by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah seeking to have some sections of the law purged.