{
  "id": 12828791,
  "title": "How rent-to-own is slowing billions in Kenya’s Affordable Housing revenue",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/how-rent-to-own-is-slowing-billions-in-kenyas-affordable-housing",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-08T08:54:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "People Daily Kenya",
    "slug": "people-daily-kenya",
    "url": "https://peopledaily.digital/business/how-rent-to-own-is-slowing-billions-in-kenyas-affordable-housing-revenue"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kenya’s affordable housing programme is facing challenges in generating the expected revenue, as buyers are increasingly opting for rent-to-own (TPS) payments over traditional upfront purchases. In the year ending June, the Affordable Housing Board collected just Ksh212.342 million from sold units, falling short of its Ksh15.25 billion target by 1.4 per cent. This gap of around Ksh15.04 billion underscores the difficulties the government faces in making housing sales a key funding source for new projects. While 94 per cent of completed affordable housing units were occupied, sales revenue remained below projections. The root cause lies in the Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS), the rent-to-own financing model. Under TPS, buyers pay for homes through monthly instalments, typically over 25 years. Government figures attribute the sales shortfall directly to the shift in purchasing methods, with most units sold under TPS rather than through cash sales. This model alters the timing of revenue, as monthly payments generate a stream of cash over time, unlike a lump sum from a cash purchase. The Affordable Housing Board aims to build a minimum of 200,000 affordable housing units annually, making the timing of cash recovery crucial. The government's challenge is twofold: selling homes and creating a financing cycle where completed units generate sufficient funds for additional construction. By June, 1,836 homes had been completed, with another 1,380 substantially finished, 103,251 units under construction, and 65,649 in procurement. This creates a funding gap as sales revenue from completed units is arriving more slowly than anticipated. The government's financing plans rely on projected housing sales and increased levy collections, totaling Ksh360 billion. If sales continue to produce less immediate cash, the government could face a funding gap between the cost of constructing new units and the revenue from completed homes. While the rent-to-own model benefits buyers by allowing them to acquire homes without a large upfront payment, it creates different financial profiles for the programme. The government's reliance on completed houses to fund future construction hinges on whether the cash flow from these houses can keep pace with the pace of new construction.",
  "summary": "Kenya’s affordable housing programme is struggling to convert completed homes into the cash needed to sustain rapid construction, as buyers increasingly opt for rent-to-own payments instead of upfront purchases. The Affordable Housing Board collected Ksh212.342 million from sold units in the year to June, against a Ksh15.25 billion target, achieving just 1.4 per cent of […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}