Housing quality and energy security in urban sub-Saharan Africa: A qualitative policy analysis in the DR Congo and Kenya

The relationship between housing quality and energy security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains underexplored, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas. This paper investigates how national housing and energy policy frameworks in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) facilitate or hinder the equitable uptake of decentralised solar solutions (DSS) in urban contexts. Using qualitative content analysis of 14 national policy and strategy documents, the study assesses the integration of housing quality, energy security, and support for decentralised energy in each country. The analysis reveals significant differences in policy maturity and coherence. Kenya has issued four housing and four energy documents since 2010, supported by stronger institutional frameworks for promoting equitable energy access and housing improvements. In contrast, DR Congo has released three housing documents and one energy law, alongside a draft energy policy validated in 2022, reflecting lower overall policy depth and weaker attention to implementation. Despite these contrasts, both countries share key challenges: vague enforcement mechanisms, lack of clear housing quality standards for low-income urban areas, weak financial sustainability, and limited policy integration across housing and energy sectors. Crucially, both frameworks treat DSS primarily as a rural solution, overlooking the growing need for decentralised energy access in urban settlements where grid reliability remains low despite formal connectivity. As a result, urban DSS uptake remains under-supported. The findings underscore the need for more integrated, cross-sectoral policy approaches that address infrastructure quality, financial barriers, and decentralised energy deployment in urban housing strategies, offering novel insights into an underexplored policy nexus in sub-Saharan Africa.