Kenyans have for the longest time been victims of exploitative property owners who hike rent whenever they like with no regard, what-so-ever, to their tenants.

There have been attempts to safeguard tenants from such exploitative landlords, but these attempts have been frustrated by the procedures entailed in enacting them into law, a classic example being the Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2007 which was passed by Parliament but is yet to be gazetted into law.

As per the Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2007, these are the conditions under which your landlord can increase your rent:

1. Your rent can only be increased after 12 months of your occupancy of the rented premise or 12 months since the previous rent increase.
2. Rent can be increased after the landlord carried out any repairs or capital expenditure work on the premises.
3. Rent can also be increased when the landlord provided new or additional services on the rented premises. Such services could include provision of security to the tenants or providing access to persons with disabilities.
4. The landlord may also choose to increase rent based on percentage change from year to year in consumer price index, i.e., based on inflation rate as determined by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
5. The landlord should give 90 days’ notice of rent increase, stating the intentions to increase rent and the amount of the new rent.

The Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2007 also has provision for reduction in rent especially in a situation where the landlord ceased to provide any services stated in the Landlord - Tenant agreement, and the decrease should be appropriate to the decrease in the service. So, if the agreement stated that the landlord was to provide security to the premises but failed to do so and tenants took it up that responsibility, their rent should be reduced in proportion to the cost incurred in providing security.

As earlier noted, the Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2007 was passed but is yet to be gazette, so until then, exploitative landlords still have power to hike rent whenever they like. Currently, in Cap 301 Landlord and Tenant (Shops Hotels and Catering Establishments) Code, the landlord is not obligated to give reasons as to why he/she is increasing the rent. It only  specifies the time of notice for increment which should not be less than two months.

Legislators are currently seeking to pass a bill that will see landlords get a permit from authorities to increase their rent. Read more on this here.