The increasing cases of building collapses and other disaster-related threats have prompted the government to undertake Uganda’s first national baseline survey of buildings to establish their number, structural characteristics, regulatory compliance, and capacity to withstand disasters.
The move comes amid continued reports of building collapses and growing concerns about buildings’ vulnerability to floods, fires and earthquakes for disaster preparedness.
According to officials, the absence of comprehensive national data on buildings makes it difficult for the government to determine the scale of the problem, identify vulnerable structures and set measurable targets for improving building safety.
Mr Morris Oleng, the head of research at the National Building Review Board (NBRB), said the survey will establish the total number of buildings in Uganda, their categories and structural characteristics, including reinforced-concrete, brick, timber, wooden, glass-and-steel, detached, semi-detached, single-storey and multi-storey buildings, among others.
Mr Olenga explained that currently, the board is recruiting enumerators and expects the exercise to begin around September 1, 2026, running through October; in November, the officials will process the findings and disseminate them by December 2026.
‘The lack of baseline data makes it impossible to set targets and remedial measures; we are talking about floods, earthquakes, fire; we want to understand how our buildings respond to these disasters,’ Mr Oleng said.
Mr Oleng highlighted that the survey will be rolled out simultaneously across Uganda; cautioned developers against constructing structures without approved building plans and permits, occupation permits, and accessibility provisions for persons with disabilities.
He said the survey will lead to the establishment of the national exposure model on the buildings’ response to natural disasters and standards.
The 2021 NBRB survey, which covered 5,642 properties across 11 cities, indicated that about 78 percent of buildings failed to meet standards under the Building Control Act, with only 22.7 percent complying, while only 25.9 percent of completed buildings met the assessed standards, with missing occupation permits among the major compliance gaps.
According to the Building Control Act, 2026, building without approved permits costs 2 currency points (Shs40,00) per square metre of built-up area; continuing construction after permit expiry (without extension) is the same penalty as illegal construction: 2 currency points per square metre.
The law also pins the offenders whose negligence leads to injury, death, or destruction of property with fines of up to 500 currency points (Shs10 million), imprisonment of up to 12 years, or both. The move is intended to enhance accountability across the entire lifecycle of a building.
In his remarks, Dr Chris Mukiza, the executive director of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), called for transparency against corruption for the effective exercise to address persistent building challenges.
UBOS chief also tasked the local governments with sharing the plans with the NBRB to address the challenges of delays that could arise during the exercise.
‘If there is a shake, we all get worried; we need to know whether all the skyscrapers have lightning arresters to control the lightning,’ Dr Mukiza emphasised.
The survey will be conducted by the NBRB in partnership with the Uganda UBOS in different parts of Uganda.
As the planned building survey takes place, Uganda has registered a series of collapses of buildings, including the May 2026 Mbale building collapse, the June 2026 building collapse in Kisasi, and the June 2026 building collapse in Kawempe, among others, leaving property destroyed and people dead.
Data from UBRB indicates that Uganda registered at least 41 structural failures between 2019 and 2025, resulting in more than 90 fatalities.