Most Kenyan families live in bungalows, finds statistics agency

Bungalows are the most prevalent type of dwelling units in the country, accounting for 55.4 per cent of all households, the Kenya Bureau of Statistics has reported.

In a recently released report, the agency further found that maisonettes were the least common type of housing. Additionally, in urban areas, one in every five households lives in a flat, while the most common type of dwellings in rural areas was bungalows at 75.5 per cent.

In counties, the report found that the proportion of households living in flats was highest in Nairobi at 46.3 per cent, followed by Kajiado at 20.1 per cent. In Mombasa County, however, the Swahili type of dwelling was preferred by most households.

The survey says six in every 10 households in the country own the dwelling units they live in, while slightly more than a third reside in rented or leased units. In rural areas, though, most people own their houses, accounting for more than 85 per cent of the population, while in urban areas, just 26.1 per cent of households own their homes.

This means that about 70 per cent of households in urban areas live in rented dwellings, with Nairobi accounting for 86.4 per cent and Mombasa 82.2 per cent. This is against just about 10 per cent of households in rural areas living in rented homes.

Additionally, some 88.6 per cent of owner-occupier houses in the country have been constructed by the owners, while only 5 per cent of owner-occupier dwellings were purchased. About 2.8 per cent were inherited and 2.3 per cent were received as gifts.

Cash purchase was the preferred mode of acquiring dwelling units among 2.6 per cent and 5.1 per cent of households in rural and urban areas, respectively. On the other hand, 0.7 per cent of owner-occupier households in rural areas and 2 per cent in urban areas purchased their houses through loans.