Decide whether you manage homes, shops, or blocks
Property management can involve tenant communication, inspections, maintenance coordination, rent reporting, service-charge administration, or full block management. Choose a property type and define what you will handle. A residential landlord with a few units may need help finding tenants and coordinating repairs; a commercial building may need vendor management, service-charge records, and scheduled inspections.
Talk with owners, caretakers, tenants, and contractors. Ask what takes the owner’s time, which reports they lack, how maintenance approvals work, and how rent or service charges are tracked. Do not promise rent collection, tenant placement, maintenance, or legal enforcement unless you have a process and authority for each.
Verify professional requirements and define your mandate
Check current Estate Agents Registration Board requirements if your service includes estate agency activities, such as letting, sale, or management of property on behalf of another. Verify whether your role requires registration, practising authority, or other approvals. Obtain advice from EARB or a qualified Kenyan professional before acting as an agent.
Use a written management agreement that identifies each property, services, fee, authority limits, reporting frequency, emergency spending limit, maintenance approval process, term, termination, and treatment of funds. State whether you may collect rent and where it will be held. Keep owner and tenant money separate from operating cash and provide receipts and reconciliations.
Do not accept a property instruction from someone whose authority is unclear. Verify owner or authorised representative details appropriately, and do not publish a unit until the mandate allows advertising. For disputes, eviction, deposits, or legal notices, refer the matter to a qualified advocate instead of improvising legal advice.
Create a maintenance and tenant-service routine
For each property, maintain an asset file with contact details, lease dates, rent amount, deposit record, inspection history, warranties, utility meters, approved contractors, and emergency procedures. Protect these records and share them only with people who need them. Use a maintenance request log with date, issue, urgency, owner approval, contractor, quote, completion, and tenant confirmation.
Classify repairs by urgency using a process agreed with the owner. A leaking pipe may require a faster response than a cosmetic repaint, but never assume a tenant’s report is trivial. Acknowledge requests, give realistic updates, and record when a contractor attends. Do not promise a repair time until the owner approves and the supplier confirms availability.
Schedule inspections with proper notice and respect tenant privacy. Photograph only areas relevant to the inspection and tell occupants what will be recorded. Share findings with the owner in a neutral report, not as accusations. Keep a record of key handovers and make sure each party knows who may access the property.
Price services transparently
Management fees may be charged as a percentage, fixed amount, or per task, but the arrangement must be clear and lawful. State whether the fee applies to rent collected, rent due, or another basis, and list separate charges for tenant placement, inspections, project coordination, or after-hours response. Explain how taxes and third-party costs are handled.
Do not quote a low monthly fee and later add an undisclosed commission on every contractor invoice. If you receive a supplier referral fee or benefit, disclose it where required and obtain appropriate consent. Owners want predictable reporting as much as a low price.
Show landlords how you report
Offer a sample anonymised monthly report with rent billed, amount received, arrears, expenses, maintenance requests, open issues, and upcoming lease dates. Do not use real tenant details. Set a reporting calendar and escalation contact so owners know when they will hear from you.
A KobStore business page can present the management services, property type and area served, service boundaries, and enquiry contact. It does not verify ownership, collect rent, screen tenants, manage repairs, or guarantee occupancy. Keep claims aligned with your signed authority and professional status.
Your first client may be an owner with a small number of units. Deliver a clear report, handle one maintenance issue responsibly, and reconcile every shilling. A transparent process builds a better referral than claiming to manage a large portfolio before you have one.
Reconcile rent before sending the owner’s report
For each unit, record rent due, date and amount received, payment reference, arrears, approved expenses, and balance held or transferred. Match every payment to a tenant and month; a bank deposit without a clear reference should not be assigned based on guesswork. Send the owner a statement showing the calculation and attach receipts or invoices for expenses according to the agreed reporting method.
If a payment is short or arrives late, notify the owner under the management agreement and give the tenant a factual account statement. Do not threaten legal action or add a penalty unless the lease and applicable law allow it. Escalate disputes to an advocate when needed. Accurate reconciliation prevents a small bookkeeping error from damaging the manager’s most important relationship.
Sources and verification: Estate Agents Registration Board for current professional guidance; Kenya Law for applicable laws; consult a qualified Kenyan advocate for mandates, tenancy disputes, and handling of client funds.
