The Kilimani Landlord’s Guide: Renting Out Your Apartment Profitably

The short answer: A well-run Kilimani one-bed lets for roughly KES 60,000–95,000/month unfurnished, two-beds KES 80,000–130,000, with furnished units earning premiums that must outwork their costs. The gap between gross and net is where landlords win or lose — and it’s decided by screening, service charges, and vacancy discipline.

Know your tenant before you advertise

Kilimani supplies four tenant types: young professionals (the volume), hospital and medical staff (shift-driven, reliable), NGO and project staff (often employer-paid), and short-stay guests (highest rate, highest effort). Decide which you’re serving — the answer dictates furnishing, pricing, and even which floor plans let fastest.

Set the rent off evidence, not hope

Overpriced units sit; in a suburb with this much supply, a vacant month costs more than pricing correctly from day one ever would. Pull real comparables for your building and its immediate rivals — not asking prices, achieved rents. (This is exactly the benchmark data our management desk maintains, building by building.)

Screening: the 20 minutes that saves a year

Income verification, employer reference, previous landlord call, and KRA PIN validation — every time, no exceptions for charm. Kilimani’s tenant depth means you never need to gamble; a unit priced right refills fast enough to wait for a clean file.

The net-yield arithmetic

From gross rent, subtract honestly: service charge (KES 8,000–15,000/month typical at the apartment tier), management (8–10% if professionally run), one month’s vacancy provision, and a maintenance float. What remains — typically a 6–8% net on well-bought stock — is your real return. Any decision made on gross numbers is a decision made on fiction.

Furnished, serviced, or long-let?

Long-let unfurnished is the lowest-effort baseline. Furnished earns 25–50% more where the building supports it. Fully serviced (the A-One Acacia model) earns most and works least — for the owner — when professional management runs it. Match the model to your appetite for 2 a.m. phone calls.

Landlord FAQ

Should I allow short-stay subletting? Only knowingly and contractually — uncontrolled Airbnb arbitrage wears your asset for someone else’s profit.

Annual rent escalation? 5–10% on renewal is market-normal when the unit is maintained; tenants renew for condition, not sentiment.

When does professional management pay for itself? The honest threshold: the first month it prevents one vacancy or one bad tenant. At 8–10% of collections, that’s usually year one.

List your unit with evidence-based pricing — talk to Block — or hand it to our management desk and see the rent hit your account without the second job attached.