Rent over food: Struggles of households to keep roofs over their heads

For millions of Kenyans living on tight incomes and yet to own homes, the end-of-month knock from the landlord has become a familiar source of anxiety as households struggle to keep a roof over their heads.

With about 4.6 million households living in rented homes, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the scale of the financial burden associated with housing is becoming increasingly evident.

A new report by Habitat for Humanity, a humanitarian organisation that works closely with UN-Habitat, shows that the cost of housing is forcing many households to make difficult trade-offs, sacrificing other basic needs to meet rent or homeownership costs.

The report found that families are being forced to cut their spending on essentials such as healthcare and education, with some foregoing medicines, living in unsuitable environments or compromising their children's education in order to afford housing.

The report speaks of how broken the housing system is in the country, even with government intervention.

Titled ‘Home at what cost? A global report on how housing shapes safety, well-being and life’s biggest decisions,’ the report states that 44 per cent of Kenyans hold the opinion that the country’s housing system is either broken or does not work.

Unsurprisingly, 41 per cent say housing has become one of their primary sources of daily stress.

Additionally, six in 10 Kenyans who do not yet own homes say they do not expect to acquire one in their lifetime due to the referenced challenges.

The October 2026 report sought views from 22 countries, among them Kenya, Egypt, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

For an economy that claims to have found a cure to the housing crisis through the State’s Affordable Housing Programme, the revelations in this report overlap the solutions being offered in the market.

The report states that one misconception about housing is that it only involves money. However, as portrayed in the document, for someone to own a home, something has to give, and this may be priceless.

“The findings in the research point to one central lesson: The full cost of housing is not measured only in what people pay. It also includes what they are forced to give up,” the report says.

It explains that housing insecurity is more than housing loss; it is often experienced through the sacrifices people make to secure or remain in a home.

“People cut back on essentials, accept safety risks, delay medical care, work more, rest less, postpone family plans, or live with the fear that one unexpected expense could threaten their ability to stay in their home,” the report says.

This trade-off between essential needs and a roof over your head is what explains why six per cent of Kenyans who have not yet acquired their units have given up owning a home in their lifetime.

The report says when housing costs rise, people cut back on the things that keep them well. Sadly, health is one of the trade-offs, the report shows.

“This may look like pushing through pain, stretching medicine, skipping time off or putting off the next break. Healthcare is one of the starkest trade-offs,” the report says. “More than one in 10 respondents (13 per cent) have delayed or avoided medical care, including taking smaller doses, skipping doses or delaying refills because of housing costs.”

It adds that among respondents living in informal arrangements, this rises to almost one in five (18 per cent).

The report says homeownership remains an aspiration, but the path is narrowing.

However, it notes that homeownership is not the only route to a secure future, citing that stable renting, secure tenure and other housing arrangements can also provide continuity and control.

The report says for many respondents, ownership remains closely tied to long-term security and the ability to leave something behind.

It details that four in five people (81 per cent) agree that rising housing costs make it difficult to become a homeowner. 79 per cent of homeowners themselves say the same.

“The tension is not that everyone wants the same housing outcome. It is one of the clearest paths people associate with stability that feels increasingly difficult to reach,” the report says.

It further reveals that among non-homeowners who do not expect to own, the barriers are practical.

“Over half (53 per cent) say homes are too expensive, 50 per cent say their income is not high enough and 41 per cent lack enough savings for a deposit,” the report notes.

A further 26 per cent cite unstable income, rising to 31 per cent among respondents from historically disadvantaged ethnic groups, compared with 23 per cent among the non-historically disadvantaged ethnic group.

The report says the things people give up to afford housing are widely shared but not evenly carried.

It states that among people living in informal arrangements, 89 per cent have made at least one cutback. The same is true for 85 per cent of low-income groups and 81 per cent of younger generations.

“Within the low-income group, women are more likely than men to report trade-offs that cut into the essentials of household stability: food, healthcare, savings and children’s opportunities,” the report says.

It adds that parents are also more likely to have drawn on savings to meet housing costs, at 36 per cent compared with 27 per cent for non-parents.

“Housing pressure is experienced as more than a monthly bill. It shapes the choices available before the month even begins,” the report says.