What to check before you take a house

Water, first

Water is the single most common reason a tenancy goes sour in Nairobi. Ask how the plot is supplied, whether there is a tank and how big it is, how often the supply is interrupted, and who pays when a bowser is called.

Open the taps. Ask what the water charge covers and whether it is a flat charge or metered, because a flat charge and a metered one behave very differently in a month when you have visitors.

Power, and how it is billed

• Is the meter in your name, a shared meter, or a landlord sub-meter?
• If it is a sub-meter, what rate are you charged, and can you see the reading?
• Are there enough sockets, and do they work? Bring a phone charger.

The things you cannot change later

• How you get to work from here, at the hour you actually travel, not at midday.
• The gate, the lighting at night, and whether anyone is on the gate after dark.
• Noise. A church, a bar, a garage or a school next door is permanent.
• Where the drainage goes, and what the compound looks like after rain.
• Mobile signal inside the unit, in the room where you would work.

Questions to ask while you are still standing there

• What is the full amount due before I get keys?
• What is due every month on top of the rent?
• Who do I call when something breaks, and who pays for it?
• How long has the unit been empty, and why did the last tenant leave?
• When exactly is it available?

Repairs are worth pinning down before you sign

A blocked drain at nine on a Sunday is when you find out whether the arrangement works. Ask who you call, whether it is one number or a landlord who may be upcountry, and whether repairs are logged anywhere you could refer back to.