Landlord to auction house items of 16 families living in his 4-storey apartment over Ksh400K rent arrears

By Agnes Mtengo in Mombasa County

Sixteen families in Bamburi, Mombasa are staring at possible evictions and auction of their household items after the landlord of an apartment they are living in, vowed to reclaim his Ksh400, 000 in rent arrears at all costs.

The property owner, through his lawyer, gave the tenants notices indicating he would auction their house items if they failed to settle their rent dues. The 4-storey commercial residential building is located at Fisheries Estate in Bamburi.

The landlord said the tenants have defaulted on rent for two months now, amounting to Ksh400, 000.

One of the tenants, Morris Okoth, told K24 Digital that they had held talks with the landlord a few days ago, and agreed on how they will settle their rent arrears without their tenancy affected.

“We are now shocked that his lawyer gave us eviction and auction notices,” said Okoth.

The tenants say subsequent attempts to seek dialogue with the landlord have been unsuccessful.

Rahab Nabala, another tenant who has stayed in the Fisheries apartment -- which has one and two-bedroom units -- for seven years now, urged the landlord to reconsider his decision to kick out the occupiers over unpaid rent.

“Some of us, including me, have lost jobs during this coronavirus crisis. I appeal to my landlord to be considerate, and we would do everything to ensure we settle our debts,” Nabala told K24 Digital.

Attempts to reach the landlord or his lawyer for comment bore no fruit.