A lease is read exactly once, usually standing up, usually while the person who wrote it waits. That is a poor moment to be discovering what it says, and it is the only moment most people get.
Ask for a copy the day before. A landlord or agency who will not send one in advance has told you something useful for free.
The clauses that actually decide things
Term and notice. How long the agreement runs, and how much notice each side must give. The two are often different. A tenant on a one-year term with three months' notice is committed differently from one with one month's. Check whether it renews automatically and on what terms.
What the rent covers. Rent alone, or rent plus water, garbage, security, service charge? A figure that sounds high with everything included may be cheaper than a low one with four extras billed monthly. Ask for the recent actual amounts of anything variable, not the estimate.
How rent can change. Whether there is a review, when, and by how much. "Subject to review" with no cap or notice period is an open door. A stated percentage or a stated notice period is a fair thing to ask for.
Who fixes what. Structure, plumbing, roof and the things that came with the unit are normally the landlord's; consumables and damage you cause are normally yours. What matters is that the agreement says so, and that there is a stated way to report a problem, not just an understanding.
The deposit. How much, what can be deducted, and how long after you leave it is returned. A defined return period is worth more than a friendly assurance.
Late payment. Whether there is a penalty, how it is calculated, and from which day. A flat charge and a compounding one are very different animals over six months.
Ending it early. What happens if you have to leave: a stated break clause, a penalty, or liability until the unit is re-let. This is the clause nobody reads and the one most likely to cost money.
Two things to check outside the document
Who you are dealing with. Is the person signing the landlord, or an agent with authority? If an agency, get the name of the company on the agreement. Money should go to an account in that name.
Whether the document matches the conversation. If you were promised the wall would be repainted or the tank replaced, it goes in the agreement or it did not happen. "They said they would" is not a term.
Before you sign
Get the version you are signing, in full, with any handwritten changes initialled by both sides. Keep a copy, and photograph every page if you are not given one.
Then do the move-in ritual: photograph the unit's condition, photograph the meters, and send both to the agency the same week. The lease sets out what you agreed; those photographs are what settles it later. See what a deposit is actually for for the rest of that routine.
Clauses worth watching in a Kenyan tenancy agreement
Beyond the seven above, these appear regularly and each has a version that is reasonable and a version that is not.
Rent payment channel. The agreement should name where rent is paid: the paybill and the account number format, or the bank account in the name that appears on the agreement. A clause that lets the payment destination change by verbal instruction is how rent ends up paid to the wrong person.
Late payment. Look at whether the charge is flat or compounding, from which day it runs, and whether there is a grace period. A percentage per day compounds into something very different from a one-off charge over six months.
Entry and inspection. A landlord generally needs to be able to inspect and to carry out repairs, and you are entitled to reasonable notice and to quiet enjoyment. A clause allowing entry "at any time" is worth asking to have qualified to reasonable notice, except in an emergency.
Subletting and occupancy. Whether anyone else may live there, whether a room may be sublet, and whether you need written consent. Ask rather than assume if a relative may be staying for a period.
Alterations. Painting, shelves, satellite dishes, security grilles, a water tank. Which need consent, and what happens at the end? Do improvements stay or come out?
Rules attached to the block. Parking allocation, hours for moving furniture, refuse, noise, pets, use of common areas. These are often in an annexure, which is part of what you are signing.
Distress for rent. Some agreements reference the landlord's remedies for arrears, including seizing goods through a licensed process. Read it, understand that any such remedy has to follow a lawful process rather than a landlord acting personally, and take advice if it worries you.
Insurance. What the landlord insures, normally the building, and what they do not, which is your contents. Assume nothing of yours is covered unless you arrange it.
Governing law and dispute resolution. Where disputes go, and whether mediation or arbitration comes first.
The condition schedule. If the agreement refers to an inventory or condition report, make sure it actually exists, is attached, and reflects what you saw.
What if there is no written lease?
It happens often, particularly with individual landlords, and it does not mean you have no tenancy. A tenancy can arise from the arrangement, the rent paid and the occupation, and the landlord's obligations do not disappear because nothing was signed.
What disappears is certainty. Without a document, the notice period, the rent review basis, the repair split and the deposit terms all become matters of recollection, and the person with the better records wins whichever way the truth actually lies.
If you are in that position, build the record yourself:
- Send one message setting out what you understand was agreed, covering rent, what it includes, deposit paid, notice period and start date, and ask them to confirm. Even a "yes" reply is a document.
- Get a receipt for every payment, ideally showing what it settled.
- Photograph the condition and the meters at the start, and send them.
- Keep every message that changes anything.
And ask, once and politely, for a written agreement. Most landlords will provide one; a refusal tells you something useful about the rest of the tenancy.
Signing day, and what to keep
- The full agreement, including every annexure and every handwritten change initialled by both sides.
- A copy for you, at the moment of signing. Photograph every page before you leave if a copy is not available immediately.
- Separate receipts for each amount paid, covering rent, deposit, utility deposit and any fee, each naming what it is for.
- The condition record: photographs of every room and of every meter, with the serials visible, sent to the landlord or agent in the same week so both sides hold the same set.
- The names and contact details of who to report a repair to, and where rent is paid.
That set of documents is the whole of your position for the next two years. Keeping it in one folder, backed up somewhere that is not just your phone, takes an hour once. And if your landlord or agency runs on a tenant app that shows your charges, payments and receipts, much of it is maintained for you rather than by you.
Common questions
What should I check in a tenancy agreement in Kenya?
The term and notice period, what the rent covers, how rent can be reviewed, who is responsible for repairs, the deposit terms and return period, late payment charges, and what happens if you have to leave early. Then check the document matches what you were told verbally.
Is a verbal tenancy agreement valid?
A tenancy can exist without a signed document, but the terms then rest on recollection. Confirm the key terms in a message and keep receipts and photographs. That correspondence becomes the record in the absence of an agreement.
Can a landlord increase rent mid-lease?
Not unilaterally where the agreement fixes the rent for a term. Where it provides for review, the review has to follow what the clause says, which is why a clause reading only "subject to review" is worth having qualified with a notice period and a basis before you sign.
What notice period is standard for a residential tenancy?
One month is the common expectation for a monthly residential tenancy, but your agreement governs and it may differ for each side. Check when the period starts running, because notice counted from the first of the following month is common and catches people out.
Who should I pay rent to?
The party named in the agreement, through the channel it names, into an account in that name. If you are asked to pay somewhere else, get the instruction in writing from the same party, and be cautious, because this is a common pattern in rental fraud.
Should I sign if something was promised but is not in the document?
No. Have it written in and initialled by both sides. A promise to repaint, replace a tank or fix a door that is not in the agreement is not a term, and it will not be remembered the same way in three months.
What is the difference between a lease and a tenancy agreement?
In everyday use in Kenya they are used interchangeably for a residential letting; formally, longer fixed terms are more likely to be called a lease and may need to be registered. What matters for your purposes is the content of the document, not its title. See tenancy agreement.