A letting agent in Nairobi for landlords who manage their own property.
We market the unit, run the viewings, vet the applicants properly and draft the lease. Then we hand you the keys and step away. One month’s rent, once, payable only when a tenant actually moves in.
Five steps, then we are out of your way.
The work that decides whether a tenancy is easy or exhausting all happens before anyone moves in.
We market the unit
Photographs, a written listing and distribution to our tenant waitlist, the portals and the corporate and NGO relocation contacts who come to us directly.
We run the viewings
You do not meet strangers at your gate or field calls at midnight. We shortlist, accompany every viewing and report back on who is serious.
We vet properly
ID, employer confirmation, income verification, two references and a face-to-face interview. Roughly half of applicants do not survive this, which is the point of it.
We draft the lease
A lease prepared by our property lawyers in your name, with deposit, escalation, notice and repair obligations written properly. You sign it, not us.
We hand over
A photographed move-in inventory, meter readings, keys and utility transfers, so the deposit conversation at the end is settled by evidence.
A bad tenant costs more than a vacant month.
Most landlord losses we are asked to clean up did not start with a repair or a market downturn. They started with someone being accepted because they were pleasant, available and willing to pay a deposit in cash. Rent arrears, a damaged unit and a months-long removal process all trace back to a decision made in an afternoon.
- Roughly half of applicants do not clear our checks
- References are called, not collected
- Income is evidenced against the rent, not assumed
- You see the full file and make the final call
- Replacement at no further fee if a placed tenant leaves for cause within six months
Tenant finding suits some landlords and not others.
It works well if you are in the country, have time, and are comfortable handling repairs, rent chasing and the tax return yourself. It works badly if you are abroad, because the parts we are handing back to you are precisely the parts that are hard to do from another time zone.
If you are overseas, look at long-term management instead, where the 10% covers collection, maintenance, compliance and the monthly USD payout. If the unit would earn more on nightly bookings, compare it against Airbnb management and short-stay.
What landlords ask before instructing us.
What does tenant finding cost in Nairobi?
A one-time fee of one month's rent, payable when the lease is signed and the tenant has moved in. Nothing is due if we do not place a tenant, and there is no monthly charge afterwards because we are not managing the property.
What do letting agents charge in Nairobi?
The Estate Agents (Remuneration) Rules set a scale, and for residential lettings it turns on the length of the lease: 7.5% of the annual gross rent for a lease of up to a year, or one month's rent for a lease longer than that. Commercial work is 7.5% on a sole agency and 10% on a general agency. The rules also say that where management services are involved the letting fee is by negotiation but not less than half scale, which is the clause most quotes never mention. In practice most Nairobi agents ask for one month's rent whatever the lease length, and it is negotiable. Ours is one month's rent, charged once, and nothing if we do not place anyone.
Are letting agents, rental agents and property agents different things?
Not in Nairobi, no. The three terms get used for the same work: marketing a vacant unit, running viewings, referencing applicants and getting a lease signed. Estate agent is broader and usually implies sales as well. What matters is not the label but where the engagement stops. A letting agent's job ends at handover; a managing agent stays on and collects the rent for a monthly percentage. Firms that call themselves one and quietly do the other are where the surprise fees come from.
How is this different from full management?
Tenant finding ends at handover. You collect the rent, deal with repairs, handle the tax and manage the relationship. Full long-term management is 10% of collected rent and we do all of that for you, month after month.
How long does it take to find a tenant?
Typically two to six weeks for a well-presented unit priced to the market, and longer if it is priced above it. We will tell you honestly at the outset if the asking rent is going to be the reason it sits empty.
What does the vetting actually involve?
Identity documents, written confirmation from the employer, evidence of income, two references we genuinely call, and an interview in person. We share the file with you and you make the final decision, not us.
What if the tenant leaves or stops paying soon after moving in?
If a tenant we placed vacates or is removed for cause within six months, we find you a replacement at no further fee. That guarantee is why the vetting is as heavy as it is.
Can I switch to full management later?
Yes, and it is common. Landlords often self-manage until the first genuinely inconvenient thing happens, then move onto long-term management. There is no re-onboarding fee if you switch.
Need a tenant you will not regret?
Tell us the unit, the area and the rent you have in mind. We will tell you what it will realistically let for.
Prefer to call? +254 702 471 993