Plots and Twists: Housing Typologies
As the new year dawned, it called on a reflection of how far our neighborhoods, cities and regions have come and celebrate every milestone in service provision. In this segment we will highlight the manifestation of housing typologies in my neighborhood.
Overall, half of the residents are home owners while the rest are tenants, inhabiting rental units constructed mostly by the home owners, it is therefore safe to say that 90% of homeowners are entrepreneurial. Most houses are built of stones for walls and iron sheets for roofing, maintaining a statistic of 90%, the other 10% are constructed of iron sheets both for walling and roofing. Since the discussion is on housing, rental rates are key, as previously discussed in other sections of the blog posts, rent is relatively affordable in this side of the town.
Most rental units are single roomed, double roomed, one-bedroomed, two-bedroomed and a few bedsitters/studio rooms and three-bedroomed houses. All units are formal housing with provision of basic amenities such as water, electricity and access to the plot. In absence of these amenities, the rental price is lower.
| Unit | Rental Price Range (Ksh) |
| Bedsitter/Studio | 4500-5000 |
| Single Room | 3000-4000 |
| Double Room | 4500-5000 |
| One Bedroom | 7000-9000 |
| Two Bedroom | 10000-12000 |
| Three Bedroom | 15000 |
Rental rates for housing
Bedsitters/studio, one, two and three bedroomed houses are self-contained meaning that facilities such as washrooms and shower rooms are inside the house. For single and double rooms, wash areas have to be shared among tenants, in this neighborhood, the sharing is approximately 2 households sharing the facilities.
Presently, there is freedom in choosing your housing typology meaning that the developer gets to choose the design of their houses. In the early 2000 to mid-2010, most residential buildings were single storey but as the population grew, developers invested on storey buildings to minimize on space while maximizing on profits and provision of housing. The only downside of this kind of investment is that water is limited in supply and thus developers have to invest on alternative sources of water supply, majorly water boozers, mounting huge water tanks on high stands in order to attract tenants to their property.
All factors held constant, this neighborhood is small and beautiful, with so many perks such as security, access and proximity to basic facilities such as schools and hospitals. We love neighbors and there are numerous support groups for the community, we look forward to welcoming you – Just Planning Kenya.
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