Raising Rent in Kenya: Notice and How to Do It

"Your rent goes up from next month."

That's how a lot of Kenyan landlords announce an increase. A WhatsApp message, sometimes a note under the door.

Then come the arguments. "You can't do that, I have a lease." "Nobody told me." "My neighbour pays less."

Some of those objections are right. Here's what the law actually says about raising rent, and how to do it so it sticks.

Table of Contents

• First: Which Kind of Tenancy Is It?
• Fixed-Term Leases: The Lease Decides
• Month-to-Month Tenancies: Notice Is the Key
• Shops and Business Premises: A Different Law
• Homes Renting for KES 2,500 or Less
• How Much Notice to Actually Give
• How Much to Increase By
• What to Put in the Notice
• What Not to Do
• When the New Rent Starts
• Key Takeaways

First: Which Kind of Tenancy Is It?

Everything depends on the answer, so start here.

Most residential rentals in Kenya's towns today are either a fixed-term lease or month-to-month. The last row covers very few homes now, so we'll come back to it briefly at the end.

Fixed-Term Leases: The Lease Decides

A lease is a contract. If it says the rent is KES 20,000 a month for twelve months, that's the rent for twelve months. You can't change it on your own halfway through, any more than the tenant can decide to start paying KES 18,000.

Unless the lease has a rent review clause. Something like:

"The rent shall be reviewed on each anniversary of the commencement date, and the Landlord shall give the Tenant not less than one month's written notice of any revised rent."

With a clause like that, you follow the clause: the timing, the notice and any cap it sets.

Without one, your chance to raise rent is at renewal. When the term ends, you offer a new lease at the new rent. The tenant can accept it or move out.

The lesson for next time: put a review clause in every lease. It's the single change that makes future increases routine instead of a negotiation. Our rental agreement guide covers the other clauses worth having.

Month-to-Month Tenancies: Notice Is the Key

Many Kenyan tenancies have no fixed end date. The tenant pays monthly, and it just rolls on. That's a periodic tenancy.

The Land Act (section 57) sets the rule for ending one: either side can end it by giving notice at least as long as the rental period, expiring on a day rent is due. For a monthly tenancy, that's at least one month, ending on a rent day.

The Act doesn't set a separate procedure for raising rent. In practice, a rent increase on a periodic tenancy works like this: you give the tenant notice of the new rent, from a rent day at least a month away. The tenant either accepts it or, if they won't, either of you can bring the tenancy to an end with proper notice.

So treat an increase the same way you'd treat a notice to end the tenancy:

• At least one full rental period of notice (more is better, see below)
• In writing
• Taking effect on a rent day, not the 17th of the month

Shops and Business Premises: A Different Law

If you let a shop, a hotel or a catering premises, check whether it's a controlled tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant (Shops, Hotels and Catering Establishments) Act. Many shorter business leases are.

For a controlled tenancy, the Act is strict about changing terms against the tenant, rent included:

• You must serve a tenancy notice in the prescribed form
• It can't take effect until at least two months after the tenant receives it (longer if the lease says so)
• It must state your grounds and ask the tenant to reply in writing within one month
• The tenant can refer it to the Business Premises Rent Tribunal

A WhatsApp message saying "rent is going up" does not meet any of that. If you own commercial premises, get this one right with a lawyer.

Homes Renting for KES 2,500 or Less

The Rent Restriction Act only applies to homes with a rent of KES 2,500 a month or less, so very few rentals fall under it today. Where it does apply, the rent is controlled and increases go through the Rent Restriction Tribunal, not the landlord's say-so.

How Much Notice to Actually Give

The legal minimum for a monthly tenancy is one month. Give more.

Two to three months is what a reasonable landlord does, and it pays you back:

• The tenant has time to adjust their budget instead of falling into arrears
• A tenant who decides to leave has time to find a place, and you have time to find their replacement, so you don't get a vacant month
• It's much harder for anyone to call the increase a surprise

A one-month notice of a big increase is legal on a monthly tenancy. It's also how you end up with a tenant who agrees, can't pay, and stops paying entirely.

How Much to Increase By

There's no legal cap on increases for most residential tenancies. That doesn't mean anything goes.

• Check what similar units nearby rent for. An increase that takes you above the area rate empties the unit
• Weigh the cost of a vacancy. A month empty, plus repainting and agent fees, often costs more than a year of a small increase
• Smaller and regular beats large and rare. A modest yearly review feels normal. A big jump after four years feels like an ambush
• Good tenants are worth keeping. A tenant who has paid on time for three years is worth some of the increase you're giving up

Our rent pricing guide for Nairobi has more on setting the number.

What to Put in the Notice

Keep it short and complete:

1. Tenant's name and the unit
2. Current rent, and the new rent
3. The date the new rent starts (a rent day, with enough notice)
4. If the lease has a review clause, which clause you're using
5. A brief reason, if you have one (rates went up, service charge went up, a renovation). Not required for most residential tenancies, but it lands better
6. Your name, signature and the date

Serve it in a way you can prove. Hand delivery with a signed acknowledgement, or a method the lease names. A WhatsApp message can help as a heads-up, but keep a copy the tenant has signed for.

What Not to Do

Don't change the rent mid-lease without a review clause. You'll lose the argument.

Don't backdate it. "From last month" is not a thing.

Don't force it. Cutting water, locking a tenant out or holding their things to make them accept an increase turns a rent discussion into a legal dispute you will very likely lose. If they won't accept, the lawful path is ending the tenancy with proper notice, not pressure.

Don't surprise good tenants. Talk to them before the letter arrives.

When the New Rent Starts

Update your records the same day the increase takes effect, not when you remember. The most common way landlords lose money on an increase isn't the tenant refusing. It's invoicing the old amount for three more months by mistake.

Diarise the start date, and check the first invoice at the new rate before it goes out.

Key Takeaways

1. Fixed lease: you can only raise rent if there's a review clause, or at renewal
2. Month-to-month: written notice of at least one rental period, ending on a rent day, under section 57 of the Land Act. Give two to three months in practice
3. Shops: a controlled tenancy needs a prescribed-form notice with at least two months' notice
4. Homes at KES 2,500 or less: controlled under the Rent Restriction Act
5. Put the notice in writing and keep proof the tenant received it
6. Never force an increase. If a tenant won't accept, end the tenancy properly

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