This archive report was first published on 4 November 2019.
As of 2019, the city of Nairobi was facing a severe housing crisis, with many residents forced to flee city estates due to exorbitant rents. According to a report by HassConsult, released in the first quarter of 2019, asking rents in the city had surged nearly threefold since 2007, pushing many Kenyans working in the city out.
Realtor HassConsult noted that the influx of tenants in satellite towns like Ngong, Kitengela, Rongai, Ruai, and Ruiru had led to a significant increase in rents in these areas. In fact, Thika, Ruiru, Ongata Rongai, Ruaka, and Kitengela saw an average rental increase of 2.1 percent on the lower side and up to 26.5 percent on the higher side, between quarter three of 2018 and the same quarter in 2019.
According to the report, the monthly median rental price for a one-bedroomed house in Kitengela and Thika stood at Sh15,000, while in Ongata Rongai, the monthly mean price of a one-bedroom rental stood at Kshs9,500. In Ruiru, the monthly mean rental price for a one-bedroom house stood at Sh12,000, and in Ruaka, the monthly mean price of a one-bedroom rental stood at Sh24,000.
As Hass Consult head of development, consulting and research Sakina Hassanali noted, 'Asking rents for a modern apartment here may cost as little as Sh23,400 and this bodes well for many tenants who are now preferring affordable units as they take caution to save in the wake of job losses across all sectors.'
Ms. Hassanali further noted that Kenyans would now rather pay more in transport and spend more time in traffic and pay cheaper rent. 'As the cost of living soars, the lower middle class is opting to pay slightly more in transport but less in rents.'
Land prices within the city have increased 638% since 2017, with Kiambu and Kajiado witnessing a 894% price jump over the same period. The report also noted that apartments in Thika recorded the highest annual growth in rents at 13.3 percent, while Tigoni had the highest quarterly rate increase at 3.5 percent.
The production of housing units is currently at less than 50,000 units, well below the estimated two million units Kenya's housing deficit target. Jubilee committed itself in the 2017 campaigns to construct one million houses by 2022, a figure that has since been revised down to 500,000.
The government has been urged to provide incentives to developers to create affordable housing, as stipulated in the Constitution of Kenya and the National Development Plan, Vision 2030 Strategy, according to the World Bank.
