Why RentU

The housing system
wasn't built for you.
We're changing that.

The honest truth about renting in Kenya — the barriers that lock millions out of good housing, and what we built to tear them down.

90%
No formal credit score
3×
Average deposit
47%
Overpay on housing
Kenya housing
Nairobi, Kenya
1.28M+ renters
Housing
No credit score
90%
of Kenyans
Average deposit
3× rent
KES 135,000+ upfront
The Case for Change

Six reasons we exist.

Because Nairobi's housing market shouldn't punish people for being hardworking.

Because paying rent on time should count for something — like a credit score.

Because a 3-month deposit shouldn't determine where you live.

Because property managers deserve tools that actually work.

Because saving for rent shouldn't be a monthly crisis.

Because homeownership should be a realistic goal, not a distant dream.

The Real Problems

These aren't edge cases.

They affect millions of people across Kenya every single month.

3×
💸

The deposit wall is real.

The average rent in Nairobi is KES 45,000/month. That means a standard 3-month deposit is KES 135,000 — before you've even moved in. For most Kenyans, that's months of savings wiped out in one payment.

3×Months deposit required on average
90%
📄

No credit score. No chance.

Most financial products require a credit history. But 90% of Kenyans have never had one — not because they're bad with money, but because the formal system was never built for them.

90%Of Kenyans have no formal credit score
47%
🏘️

Good housing stays out of reach.

People settle for worse housing in cheaper areas — not because they can't afford rent, but because they can't pull together the upfront cost. Entire neighbourhoods are effectively off-limits.

47%Spend over 30% of income on housing
40%
📉

Landlords bleed from vacancies.

Properties sit empty for months. Cash flow is unpredictable. Landlords are losing money not because tenants are bad, but because the entry barrier is too high for good tenants to commit.

40%Average vacancy rate before RentU
Our Answer

Here's what we built instead.

01

We remove the deposit wall.

RentU pays your landlord the full deposit and first month's rent upfront — on your behalf. You move in immediately and repay in comfortable monthly splits. No savings required. No stress.

Old way
KES 135,000 upfront
With RentU
KES 22,500/month
We remove the deposit wall.
01
02

We build credit from rent.

Every on-time payment you make through RentU is recorded. We turn your rent history into a formal credit score — a proven track record that rent-to-own companies and lenders can rely on.

Without RentU
No credit, no loan
With RentU
Rent history = credit score
We build credit from rent.
02
03

We make saving for rent effortless.

Set a daily or weekly micro-saving goal. We hold your money securely in escrow and transfer it directly to your landlord on rent day. If you fall short, we top up and you repay later.

Without RentU
Stressed every month-end
With RentU
Automated, stress-free
We make saving for rent effortless.
03
04

We give landlords their time back.

Our property management platform handles rent collection, tenant communication, maintenance tracking, and analytics — all in one dashboard. Less chasing. More managing.

Before RentU
Spreadsheets & phone calls
With RentU
One clean dashboard
We give landlords their time back.
04
Our Mission
"To make housing accessible to every Kenyan — by removing the financial barriers that keep people from the homes they deserve."

RentU is building financial infrastructure for East Africa's rental market — one where tenants have power, landlords have predictability, and everyone has a fair shot at good housing.

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Our Story