The Kenya Government has announced that it will increase rent on all government residential houses by 10 per cent, effective November 1, 2023.

In a letter to the Principal Secretary of the National Treasury, Chris Kiptoo, the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, Charles Hinga, said that the increase was necessary to boost the department's revenue.

Hinga noted that rent rates for government housing have remained stagnant since 2001 and that the increase was in line with the department's efforts to enhance its Appropriation In Aid (AIA).

"This is to, therefore, seek your concurrence to adjust Rent Rates for Government Residential Housing by 10 per cent commencing November 1, 2023," Hinga wrote in the letter.

The increase in rent is likely to affect civil servants and other government employees who live in government housing.

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It is also likely to have an impact on the private housing market, as landlords may use the government's increase as justification for raising their own rents.