Nairobi landlords are struggling to meet tenants' new housing demands even as others move out in droves to areas that match their preferences.
According to the latest reports, tenants are no longer interested in apartments that only have lockable gates due to the surge in the cases of insecurity in the city.
The cases of daylight muggings and break-ins in apartments exposed loopholes that directly affected Nairobi's property market.
According to a landlord who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, tenants now prefer living in densely populated estates. They are shying away from less developed estates affecting the general growth of satellite towns.
"We are now facing a new wave where tenants don't want to live in apartments which are scarcely populated. The CCTV footage of crime incidents shared online instilled fear in them.
"People now prefer living in shared community areas. We are now being left with empty houses," he stated.
Also, people who are house hunting want to know if there is a police station nearby before signing the tenancy agreement.
Besides that, tenants want apartments fitted with CCTV cameras carrying out 24 hours surveillance in the area.
Landlords are facing a new wave of demands where Nairobi residents demand electric fences on top of the perimeter walls to guarantee them security.
Other than well-trained guards manning the gates, tenants also demand alarms fitted in different building parts before moving in.
The same demands have affected the land acquisition process in most parts of the country, with areas with high crime rates receiving low reviews, in turn taking a negative toll on prices.
"Properties in insecure neighbourhoods are very difficult to sell. And even when the owner gets lucky, tenants move out as soon as they realize the place is insecure. Subsequently, the property’s value depreciates or stagnates," Michael Karani, the Property Manager and Realtor, told Nation Africa.
To match the demands, some landlords have started carrying out renovations. Others have passed the costs on to tenants.
"Some of us are contemplating increasing rents in order to meet the demands of our tenants. For instance, hiring a professional security-providing company is expensive. So they have to contribute to a special kitty," another landlord told Kenyans.co.ke.
