The continued surge in population in Nakuru has led to the scarcity of rental houses in most estates with landlords being forced to hike house rents.
In most Nakuru estates tenants have been reporting a hike in house rent to as much as 100 percent.
In Zanzibar estate along the Nakuru-Nyahururu highway, most tenants are forced to pay an agency fee of between Sh1,500-Sh2,000 when looking for a house to rent.
According to James Mwaniki, a landlord at Zanzibar estate, the shortage of housing in Nakuru is caused by the surge in population and the limited growth and investment in the housing sector.
“In Nakuru we have very few estates and the population has been rising day by day and this has led to not only the shortage of houses but also the rise in monthly rent of the existing houses,” said Mwaniki.
Mwaniki said that investors in Nakuru should think of investing in the real estate sector to curb the housing crisis as well as meet the ever growing housing demand.
“We need to invest a lot in the housing sector but also the county government should do something to help the situation,” he said.