Four out of ten Kenyans living in towns want the government to regulate rent to prevent landlords from raising it arbitrarily, amid a revelation that more than a third of households’ spending is on rent alone.
This is based on a new Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Housing survey, which received responses from a section of rural and urban households in all the 47 counties and extrapolated the results to estimate the national sentiment on rent control and other issues.
KNBS says the survey indicates that 41 percent of 9.6 million Kenyans living in urban areas expressed the need for the government to regulate rent, even as 59 percent opposed.
In total, the survey results extended to cover 28.2 million Kenyans out of whom 10.6 million want the government to regulate rent, while 17.6 million are opposed to the move.
Rent control programmes aim to limit how much landlords can charge for leasing or renewing a lease, but different players express varied opinions on their efficacy.
“Proponents argue that rent control helps people with moderate incomes and elderly residents on fixed incomes stay in their homes, especially as rising prices from gentrification threaten their ability to afford housing. They also believe that rent control is necessary because rental prices are often increasing faster than wages, and controlling rent can prevent sudden, unaffordable hikes, allowing families to live without fear of displacement,” KNBS notes in the report.
The survey notes that urban areas have a huge proportion of Kenyans (41 percent) who would like the government to regulate rents, compared to rural areas where only 35.8 percent of residents support the move.
KNBS notes that opponents of the move argue that rent control reduces the availability of quality housing and could push landlords to convert properties to other uses to avoid profit-limiting regulations.
“They claim that rent control discourages investment in new rental properties and leads to poor maintenance of existing buildings due to limited financial returns for landlords,” the survey notes.
Counties with highest numbers of residents supporting the move for the government to regulate rent include Mandera, where 82.3 percent of the population is in favour, followed by Makueni (77.4 percent), Laikipia (69.7 percent), Machakos and Migori (67.7 percent each) and Trans Nzoia (65.5 percent).
Counties leading in opposition to the move include Isiolo, where 96.4 percent of the population is against the move, Wajir (91.9 percent), Busia (91.4 percent), Garissa (90.3 percent), Turkana (88.5 percent), Kakamega and Marsabit (87.8 percent each), Kwale (84 percent) and Kajiado (82.1 percent).
In Nairobi, Kenya’s capital and home to the largest number of Kenyans, opinion is split almost halfway with 53.8 percent of the 2.9 million respondents opposed to rent regulation and 46.2 percent in support.
The debate over rent controls rages even as it emerges from the report that in at least 12 counties, more than 40 percent of households’ expenditure goes on rent alone.
“The proportion of household expenditure on housing to total household expenditure shows that nationally, urban renting households spend a higher proportion of their expenditure on rent compared to rural renting households at 38 percent and 29.6 percent respectively,” the survey notes.
Kajiado recorded the highest rate of rent to household expenditure with about two-thirds of households’ spending going on rent alone. For households living in urban parts of Kajiado, their expenditure on rent averages 67.4 percent of their household spending and those in rural Kajiado average 41.5 percent.
Kajiado is followed by Kisii (54.6 percent), Kericho (53.2 percent), West Pokot (46.9 percent) and Nyandarua (46.8 percent).
The survey notes that nationally, the majority of tenants (76.5 percent) pay rent directly to individual landlords, while 21 percent pay through agents.
Over the five years to 2023, most of the tenants who reported an increase in the rent of the houses they live in are those who pay rent through agents, the survey notes.
“Over the five-year period, 87.4 percent of tenants reported to have not experienced rent increment, whereas 12.6 percent had experienced rent increment.
“Tenants who paid rent to government entities and faith-based organisations did not report rent increments. However, 13.4 percent of those who paid rent to individuals through agents, and 12 percent of those who paid to individuals directly, reported to have experienced rent increment,” the survey notes.