What a landlord must do for a tenant by law
Land Act, 2012 · sources read 2 Oct 2026
Every lease, even an oral monthly one, carries legal promises: the landlord must let you live in peace, keep a rented house fit to live in, repair the roof, main walls, drains and shared areas of a shared building, and pay rates unless the lease says otherwise. The landlord may enter only at a reasonable time and after 7 days' notice, to inspect or repair.
- Deadline
- 7 days' notice before the landlord enters to inspect or repair.
- Where
- Your landlord first; the Environment and Land Court for disputes
Steps
- If fire, flood, a storm or another accident that wasn't your fault makes the house unfit to live in, rent stops (fully or in part) until it is fixed. If it isn't fixed within 6 months, you can end the lease with one month's notice.
- To end a periodic tenancy, either side gives notice at least as long as the rent period (a month for monthly rent), ending on a rent day.
- If you can't agree, disputes under the Land Act go to the Environment and Land Court or a subordinate court with the power to hear them.
Watch out
- The duty to keep a home fit for people to live in lasts the whole lease, not just the day you move in.
- Your duties as a tenant: pay rent on time, keep the house in reasonable repair, and hand it back in the condition you got it, apart from fair wear and tear and damage that wasn't your fault.
- The landlord can serve notice to end the lease if rent is unpaid for one month after the due date, or if you break a lease term for a month.
Who this covers
- Every tenant who pays the rent and keeps the lease terms is entitled to quiet enjoyment, without interference from the landlord.
- Tenants who rent with or without a written agreement: renting a place for rent with no written agreement counts as a periodic tenancy.
- Short leases of 2 years or less can be oral or in writing.
Official sources (1)
- The Land Act, No. 6 of 2012 (Revised Edition 2019) landcommission.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026