How to start a facilities maintenance company in Kenya with AI
Starting a facilities maintenance company in Kenya: NCA registration, VAT pricing, first contracts with sectional property corporations, and AI for each site.
Written for Founders and owners of building maintenance companies in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu serving offices, apartments, schools, clinics and hotels.
- Register the right NCA class (and EPRA licence for electrical work) before you bid on contract work.
- Apartment blocks under the Sectional Properties Act have a corporation that must keep common property in good repair: that is your client.
- Price contracts with 16% VAT and the power-backup work your sites need.
- From the first site, keep visit records outside technicians' phones; that history is what renews contracts.
How to start a facilities maintenance company in Kenya: register with the National Construction Authority in the right class, line up a small team of multi-skilled technicians and trusted subcontractors, and win your first annual maintenance contracts with apartment corporations, offices and schools. Then grow by keeping those clients. AI helps from the first site: technicians send WhatsApp voice notes and photos, and every visit becomes a record per client, site and asset.
Get registered before you bid
Under the National Construction Authority Act, you cannot carry on the business of a contractor without being registered and holding a valid practising licence. The NCA registers local contractors in categories NCA 1 to NCA 8, by class of works: building works, electrical and mechanical engineering services, and roads and civil works. Your category sets the size of contract you can take, so choose it with the work you plan to bid for in mind.
Specialist work has its own regulators: the NCA notes that electrical installations, generating plants, and lifts and escalators also involve the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). If you plan to do electrical work yourself rather than subcontract it, check EPRA's licensing first.
Know who your first clients are
Apartment blocks are a natural first market. Under the Sectional Properties Act, 2020, the corporation formed by the unit owners must keep the common property in good repair, and it funds that from owners' contributions. A corporation's board has to show owners what their contributions paid for, which is exactly what a well-documented maintenance contract gives them.
Other early clients: office parks along Mombasa Road, Westlands and Upper Hill, private schools, clinics and hotels. They buy the same thing: planned preventive maintenance across plumbing, electrical, HVAC, painting and small works, plus fast response when something fails.
Price with VAT and power in mind
Once you are VAT-registered, your invoices carry Kenya's 16% general VAT rate; build it into every contract price you quote to a client that cannot reclaim it.
Power interruptions make generators, changeover switches, UPS and booster pumps part of most sites. A contract that includes checking and logging that equipment is worth more to the client, and gives your technicians a reason to visit every month.
Where new maintenance companies lose money
| Leak | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Contracts priced too low | The first-year price ignored how often the booster pump trips |
| Reactive jobs not billed | A technician fixed a tap "while on site"; nobody recorded it |
| Site knowledge in one phone | Only one supervisor knows where the meter room key is |
| Subcontractors nobody tracks | The painter promised to return Friday; nobody checked |
| Slow answers to the property manager | "What did you do in Block C last month?" takes two days |
Capture every visit from WhatsApp
Your technicians already use WhatsApp. Ask for one voice note or photo after each visit:
"Kilimani apartments, Block B. Changed the float valve on the roof tank, generator serviced, battery weak, quote needed. Caretaker says lift 2 is noisy again."
AI files it under the client, the site and the asset: what was done, what was found, what was recommended, what was promised. No forms.
Sell, renew and grow contracts
With visits captured, ask plain questions each month:
- "Which contracts end before March?"
- "Which sites had three or more call-outs this quarter?" (a price review or a bigger scope)
- "Which generators did we flag that were never quoted?"
- "Which clients only buy plumbing from us?"
If you also service air conditioning and cold rooms, the guide to growing an HVAC company in Kenya covers that trade in detail.
Keep track of subcontractors and site teams
Early on, you will subcontract lifts, fire systems and specialist electrical work. The client sees one company. Ask each team lead to forward subcontractor messages, then ask: "Who was on the Westlands office site this month, and what is still open?"
Prove the work and keep the knowledge
Send each corporation or property manager a short monthly summary per site: planned visits done, call-outs, recommendations, photos. It helps their board explain the budget to owners and makes your renewal easier.
When a supervisor leaves, their sites should not lose their memory. With history in a shared record, the next person can ask "What should I know about Kilimani Block B?" and get the full story.
How to start a facilities maintenance company: the first four weeks
- Week 1: confirm your NCA class and any EPRA licence you need.
- Week 2: every technician sends a voice note or photo after each visit.
- Week 3: add every contract and list renewal dates and price-review sites.
- Week 4: send one client a monthly site summary built from the records.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start a facilities maintenance company?
Register with the NCA in the right class of works, build a core team of multi-skilled technicians and reliable subcontractors, and start with annual maintenance contracts for apartment corporations, offices and schools. Keep a record of every visit from day one.
What does a facilities maintenance company do?
It keeps buildings working: plumbing, electrical, generators and pumps, HVAC, painting and small works, through planned maintenance contracts and reactive call-outs.
What is the difference between facilities management and facilities maintenance?
Facilities maintenance is the hands-on upkeep of a building's systems. Facilities management is broader and also covers services such as security, cleaning and space planning.