Ten types of landlords you are likely to come across in Kenya

Every tenant wishes to have a good landlord when renting a house. However, getting an ideal one depends on how lucky you are. While there are those who will come yelling when collecting rent, others are ghosts that are never seen by their tenants, while some are only seen during end months. Here are ten types of landlords you will come across in Kenya.

The money-hungry type

This one will start reminding you about rent two days before the end month. They will be on your doorstep exactly on 1st each month demanding rent or get the door locked. They will not take any excuse for the delay. Whether you have lost your job due to COVID-19 or your wife is in the hospital ward is none of their concern. Extend five days past end month minus rent payment, and you will find your door or iron sheet plucked.

The gossiper

This is the landlord who, instead of minding her own business and that of her family, enjoys gossiping about others and wants to know what is happening in each of the tenant’s houses. She is aware which tenant fought with his wife last night, which one slept hungry, and which one did not sleep at his house. After getting such updates, she quickly passes the information to her fellow gossipers.

The noisy/complainant

There are also those who are always complaining and making noise in the plot. Everyone knows whenever they enter the plot, whether to collect rent or for inspection. They will yell at every one if they find the gates not closed, or if the taps are left running, if your music system is loud, when the children are making noise or when your aired clothes are drizzling water to the floor corridors. All the tenants know him/her as an irritant who will not fail to find a fault to complain each day.

The inspector

This one will want to know how you live and when at your doorstep asking you about rent, she will be peeing at your house to see if your TV is a flat screen or ile ya mgongo. She will also be asking you about the whereabouts of your husband since she has not seen him for a very long time.

The fisi type

This one is known for making advances to people’s wives, girlfriends, or housemaids. He has been warned several times, and each time, he threatens the concerned tenants with evictions. In fact, he is the cause of several family feuds in the house.

The care free landlord

This one doesn’t care how the tenants live, whether they have water, or whether the plot is clean, blocked sewers, etc. If you try to reach him in the middle of the month for any other issue, he is either busy or mteja. 

The super hand-man

He is a jack of all trades, from fixing a faulty electricity line or reconnecting back power lines that have been disconnected by Kenya Power guys or fixing back disconnected water lines. This landlord is also capable of unblocking sewers and even fixing tabs.

He does not only have the required tools and equipment to fix things in your house or plot, but he is also superb at doing the jobs himself. But you have to give him something for the job.

The ‘ghost’ landlord

This one probably lives in Ushago, yet he has rental plots in the city. He only comes once in a while to check on the status of the property and to check which tenant has rent arrears. Apart from the caretaker who is his relative and the veteran tenants, many of the tenants are not aware of who the owner of the houses is.

The super proud one

This one feels as if she owns the whole world, and so does not value his tenants. She normally does not even greet his tenants because she doesn’t want to be associated with this caliber of people. 

The landlord from heaven

This is the ideal landlord every tenant desires to have. Whenever there is a calamity like the current COVID-19 pandemic, he is always ready to help when necessary. He is ready to waive rent or give out goodies to help his tenants sustain themselves. Unlike others, this one understands when you have lost your job, or you have encountered various issues and will wait until things normalize on your side before asking you for rent. You can even use his car to take your wife to the hospital as long as uweke mafuta.