Meeting the Housing Needs of University Students in Small Urban Areas in Kenya

Purpose: This paper focuses on the Kenyan real estate market and examines how private developers and institutions of higher learning are addressing the increased housing demand brought about by a higher enrolment of students.Design/Methods Followed/Approach: The research will consider the academic literature that has been developed on this submarket. The research conclusions are drawn based on universities in small towns. This paper intends to look at how Kenyan developers have responded to this pent-up demand. It will be interesting to see how the local counties deal with this private apartment student housing and the rent by room model.Findings: The main finding of this study will be that students housing in Kenya is a new asset class that is growing. Investors, government and institutions of higher learning must therefore take student housing as sector that must be planned for. That the increased demand for rental space in some of these rural towns is also driving up the rental costs of all housing, which maybe unwelcome to communities who are renters. It suggests that private developer must provide good standard accommodation if they hope to have a continuous stream of income.