By Jimmy Wakoko
Last week, President Yoweri Museveni assented to three significant pieces of legislation: the Building Control (Amendment) Act, 2025; the Mortgage Refinance Institutions Act, 2025; and the Valuation Act, 2025.
On the surface, these appear to be technical legal reforms. In substance, however, they mark something far more consequential. Together, they suggest that Uganda’s real estate sector may be entering a new era — one defined less by expansion alone and more by structure, discipline, and institutional credibility.
This is not merely regulatory housekeeping. It is a governance moment.
Raising the Floor: Why Construction Standards Matter More Than Ever
Uganda has experienced strong urban growth over the past two decades. Skylines have shifted, satellite towns have emerged, and private developers have played a central role in meeting demand. Yet growth without consistent enforcement inevitably produces uneven outcomes. Quality varies. Risk accumulates quietly. Confidence becomes selective.
The Building Control (Amendment) Act, 2025 addresses this imbalance directly. By strengthening oversight, increasing accountability, and tightening enforcement mechanisms around construction practices, it raises the baseline standard for development.
In the short term, the industry should expect higher compliance requirements, stricter inspections, and greater professional accountability. For some operators, this will feel like pressure. For others, it will feel like overdue clarity.
Over the long term, however, the implications are far more strategic. Reduced structural risk, improved asset durability, stronger investor confidence, and a more level playing field for disciplined developers are not marginal gains — they are foundational to market maturity.
Institutional capital does not fear regulation; it fears unpredictability. A market with enforceable and consistently applied standards is easier to finance, insure, and scale. In that sense, raising the floor on development standards ultimately expands the ceiling for growth.
Deepening Capital: The Strategic Role of Mortgage Refinancing
If construction quality defines the physical integrity of a property market, access to long-term capital defines its financial depth.
Uganda’s housing market has historically been constrained by limited access to long-tenor financing. Mortgage products have often been short-term and expensive relative to income levels, creating a mismatch between development cycles and financing structures.
The Mortgage Refinance Institutions Act, 2025 seeks to address this structural constraint. By strengthening the legal framework for mortgage refinancing institutions, the Act aims to improve liquidity for commercial banks, enable longer-tenor mortgage products, and potentially reduce the cost of housing finance over time.
If implemented effectively, the consequences could be significant. Increased residential absorption, stronger condominium uptake, improved feasibility for mid-income housing projects, and better alignment between development timelines and financing structures would follow.
A deeper mortgage market does more than stimulate transactions. It stabilizes the system. It reduces systemic stress. It creates predictability in both supply and demand. And stability is the cornerstone of investability.
Professionalizing Valuation: Credibility as Market Infrastructure
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Valuation underpins lending decisions, acquisitions, portfolio reporting, insurance, dispute resolution, and capital structuring. When valuation frameworks are inconsistent or weakly regulated, risk becomes opaque and pricing becomes distorted.
The Valuation Act, 2025 introduces a more formal regulatory framework for valuers, strengthening professional standards and accountability. This is not a cosmetic adjustment. It is a structural reinforcement of the market’s informational backbone.
Greater credibility in lending valuations, improved pricing consistency, enhanced transparency in transactions, and increased confidence among institutional and foreign investors are the immediate benefits.
For asset owners and managers, the implications are equally significant: investment-grade reporting, more reliable refinancing discussions, improved portfolio benchmarking, and the potential foundation for future REIT and capital market structures.
Transparent valuation is not a luxury in a maturing market. It is infrastructure.
From Expansion to Governance: A Structural Shift
Taken together, these three Acts address the three essential pillars of any functioning property market:
- Construction quality and safety
- Access to long-term capital
- Credible asset pricing
This alignment is not accidental. It reflects a coordinated shift from a primarily expansion-driven phase to a governance-driven phase.
And governance attracts capital.
Yes, compliance costs may rise. Yes, weaker operators may experience strain. But mature markets reward structure, transparency, and professionalism. They filter out fragility and amplify credibility.
For developers, lenders, valuers, and property managers who already operate with discipline, these reforms are not restrictive. They are enabling.
The opportunity now lies in building institutions — not just projects. In strengthening balance sheets, not just breaking ground. In embedding governance as a competitive advantage rather than treating it as an obligation.
This is how markets transition from emerging to investable.
Jimmy Wakoko is a Ugandan real estate management and growth strategy specialist with over ten years of experience in property and facilities management, currently serving as Portfolio Manager and Head of Property Management at Broll Uganda. He focuses on helping landlords and investors unlock sustainable returns through strategy, innovation, and people-centered asset management across commercial, retail, and residential portfolios.
