The real estate market in the country has no clear model dictating how landlords, homeowners, and property managers arrive at the amount of rent payable by tenants.
This creates loopholes through which developers or house owners exploit figures to the detriment of tenants, heaping more pressure on stakeholders to regulate the real estate sector.
However, several factors contribute to the rise in rental fees.
Here are the top three;
Amenities
Apart from the amount of space available in a house or unit in an apartment, the state of amenities in any rental apartment or house directly impacts the charges.
In other words, apartments may appear similar in terms of space and location but vary in rent charged, owing to the quality of amenities.
Some features that increase the amount of rent include furnished rooftops, fitness centres, private outdoor spaces, elevator services, and parking spaces, to name a few.
Service charges
Service charges are considered top in the list of hidden factors increasing the rental fees of houses in Nairobi.
Defined as the fee homeowners or tenants pay to homeowners or managing agents for services such as garbage collection, water, cleaning security management, gym, and electricity, services charges, carry from apartment to apartment.
The number of services covered also varies from one place to the other. In most cases, many tenants are wary of the hidden charges that increase rent.
Location
The location of the apartment or house in question is one of the biggest factors that directly impact the rental amount payable.
Mostly, the location determines the baseline rental amount, among other market forces.
For instance, one would pay more for an apartment closer to the CBD than the satellite areas.
