Zimbabwe Orders Property Developers to Install Electricity Before Selling Stands

By Southerton Business Times | Harare

The Government has introduced sweeping new regulations requiring property developers to finance and construct electricity infrastructure for new residential, commercial and industrial developments before selling or leasing serviced stands. The measures, contained in Statutory Instrument 128 of 2026, are aimed at ensuring new developments are fully serviced with reliable electricity while reducing the burden on the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) to retrofit power infrastructure after settlements have already been established. The regulations also introduce stiff penalties for non-compliance, including criminal prosecution, fines and imprisonment.

Under the new regulations, developers must design, fund and install all electricity backbone infrastructure required to supply their developments.

Crucially, no developer will be permitted to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any stand until the electrical infrastructure has been completed, inspected and certified by the relevant authorities. The move is expected to address long-standing concerns over housing developments being marketed without essential services, leaving homeowners waiting years for electricity connections.

Once completed, the electricity distribution network must be transferred to ZETDC free of charge. Developers will also be required to provide a five-year warranty covering all electrical infrastructure and equipment installed within the development. The warranty is intended to ensure defects identified after commissioning are rectified at the developer's expense rather than by taxpayers or electricity consumers.

The regulations grant local authorities wider powers to enforce compliance.

Councils will be able to:

• Suspend development permits for non-compliant projects.

• Block approval of land subdivisions.

• Refuse to issue rates clearance certificates until developers comply with the regulations.

The measures are expected to strengthen oversight of land development and improve coordination between councils and utility providers.

Developers or companies that fail to comply with the regulations may face criminal prosecution. Convicted offenders could be fined up to Level 5 or sentenced to up to six months' imprisonment, or both, depending on the offence. The Government says the penalties are intended to discourage the sale of unserviced land and improve standards across Zimbabwe's property development sector.

The regulations also introduce a framework allowing independent electricity distribution operators to participate in Zimbabwe's power sector. Private companies will be eligible to operate electricity distribution networks under 25-year renewable licences, which will be awarded through a competitive bidding process. However, the regulations protect consumers by requiring that tariffs charged by licensed private distributors must not exceed ZETDC tariffs approved by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA). The reforms form part of wider Government efforts to modernise Zimbabwe's electricity sector, improve infrastructure delivery and ensure new housing developments are fully serviced before occupation.

Zimbabwe property developers electricity regulations