A tenancy agreement is the answer to every later argument, which is why it is worth reading slowly once rather than quickly never.
Most people read it at the gate, standing up, with the agent waiting. That is the worst possible circumstance in which to read the document that will govern the next two years, and asking to take it home is a completely ordinary request.
The clauses that actually determine how a tenancy goes
Rent. How much, when due, how paid, and what happens if late. Whether any penalty applies and on what terms.
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.
Duration and renewal. The fixed term, and what happens at the end. Does it continue month to month, renew automatically, or end?
Notice. How much either side must give, in what form, and to what address. This is the clause people most often discover too late. See notice period.
Escalation. Whether rent rises during the term, by how much, and on what trigger. See rent review.
Repairs. Which side is responsible for what. A lease silent here is not a lease with no answer; it means the answer comes from law and from what is reasonable.
Deposit. The amount, what it covers, and the conditions for refund. See security deposit.
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?
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.
Utilities. Which are metered, which are shared, how the share is worked out, and which accounts go into whose name.
Ending early. Whether either side can, and at what cost.
Lease or tenancy agreement?
In everyday use in Kenya the two words 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.
A verbal tenancy is still a tenancy
The absence of a document does not mean the absence of rights and obligations. 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 it does mean is that every term is a matter of recollection, which favours whoever is more confident rather than whoever is correct. Where there is no written agreement:
- 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.
Before you sign
If a clause is unclear, ask before signing and get the answer added in writing. A clarification given verbally at signing has the same evidential weight as no clarification at all.
The same applies to anything promised at the viewing. A repaint, a new tank, a lock change: if it is not in the document, it is not a term.
What to walk away with
- 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, each naming what it is for.
- The condition record, sent to both sides in the same week.
- The names and contact details of who to report a repair to, and where rent is paid.