Landlords Now Want Direct Contact With Tenants’ Employers

Samuel GitongaJun 15, 20201 Mins read3.8k

A residential apartment block in Kahawa Wendani. Landlords want direct access to tenants' employers to avoid conflict over rent.

The Landlords and Tenants Association Of Kenya has proposed house owners be allowed access to their tenants’ employers as a way to protect the interests of both parties as run-ins over rent across the country continue to pile up.

Secretary-General of Landlords and Tenants Association Of Kenya Ben Liayi said this would allow landlords to verify a house occupant’s inability to pay rent amid the COVID-19 Pandemic that has rendered many Kenyans jobless while others contend with unpaid leave or massive pay cuts.

According to Liayi, such a move will be allow landlords to verify a tenant’s ability to pay rent stating many house occupants are increasingly “lying about their ability to pay rent” to avoid responsibility.

This he said will foster trust and maintain cordial relationships between landlords and their tenants which will enable the landlords offer rent relief to deserving tenants.

“Most landlords know when a tenant is telling the truth or when they are lying. It helps to have a good relationship,” he said.

This comes even as a report authored by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) dubbed Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households Report showed that 30.5 percent of households were unable to pay rent on the agreed date in April citing reduced income.

KNBS’ report also showed about 21.5 percent of households that normally pay rent when it falls due were unable to post their rent for the month of April 2020 on time.

Further, approximately 59.8 percent of those who usually pay rent on an agreed date were able to pay rent for the month of April on time.

In April, the government urged landlords to be lenient with their tenants citing the need to be sensitive as most families continue to struggle to put food on the table.

“Landlords should be a bit sensitive towards tenants and remember that people are not in the situation where they always are,” said Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.

“However, we need to know that even landlords have bank loans that they need to pay up. It is a chain of events that will need all of us to be humane towards one another, ” Kagwe added.

Another KNBS report shows that 770,000 Kenyans have lost their jobs since the outbreak of COVID-19.