Evaluation of the mandate of the relevant institutions in addressing the squatter problem in Kenya

Abstract

Squatter settlements are considered as residential areas inhabited by the very poor who have no access to land tenure of their own, and hence "squat" on vacant land, either private or public.Squatter settlement is the absence of security of tenure and planning.The defining characteristics of a squatter settlement are: firstly, physical characteristic, such as ,services and infrastructure at below minimum level this includes roads and water services. Secondly, social characteristic as they are inhabited by persons who belong to a lower income group mostly working in the informal sector, predominantly migrants. Thirdly, legal characteristic, which is the lack of ownership of the land in which individuals have settled, it could be public or private land. They have no security of land tenure and are constantly exposed to eviction and violence