For tenants
What it really costs to move into a house in Nairobi
Almost every house advertised in Nairobi is quoted at its rent and nothing else. The figure you actually need in your hand is larger, and finding that out at the door, after you have paid a fare across town, is how most people lose a day and a deposit they had earmarked for something else.
The three things you pay before you get keys
Whatever else changes between landlords, the shape of the bill is the same.
- The first month's rent, due before you move in rather than at the end of your first month.
- A deposit, which is usually about one month's rent and is held as security rather than spent.
- Any monthly service charge, commonly water and refuse collection, which starts from the first month.
Why the deposit is the part that trips people up
The deposit roughly doubles what you need on day one. Somebody budgeting for a KES 8,000 bedsitter is often actually budgeting for KES 16,200 once the deposit and the service charge are counted, and that gap is the single most common reason a viewing does not turn into a tenancy.
The deposit is not a fee. It is your money, held against the tenancy, and it comes back when you leave less anything still owed on the account. Ask, before you pay it, what would be deducted and who decides.
Ask for the whole figure in writing
Before you travel to a viewing, ask the agent or landlord for one number: everything due before you get keys, and everything due monthly afterwards. A straight answer costs them nothing. Hesitation is information.
Every listing on this site publishes that total already, itemised, with the refundable part marked, so there is nothing to ask us for.
Budget for the things nobody advertises
- Moving a household across Nairobi, which is rarely under a few thousand shillings.
- A viewing fee, where one applies. Ours is credited against your deposit if you take the unit.
- Electricity tokens, and a water deposit where the meter is in your name.
- Curtains, a cooker point, and whatever the unit does not come with.
Every listing on this site publishes its full move-in cost, so none of the asking above is needed on ours.