Frequently Asked Questions

Vacant Kenya is a direct tenant-to-tenant rental marketplace. Here's how it works:

1. Post your vacating house — Moving out? List your current property with photos, a video tour, and details like rent, location, noise level, balcony, and nearby amenities.
2. Get hunting access — Once approved, pay a small one-time fee (KES 200) for 90 days of unlimited access.
3. Browse and connect — Search listings with advanced filters (house type, rent range, amenities, noise level, balcony, distance from road). Message listers directly through the platform.
4. Move in and review — Once you move in, mark the property as occupied. Leave a review on the building to help future tenants.

Property owners and developers can also get Verified Lister status to list units without moving out — perfect for new buildings.

Browsing listings is free. You can search, filter, and view all properties at no cost.

Hunting Access — To contact listers directly, you need a hunting pass: KES 200 for 90 days of unlimited access.

Listing a property is free — posting your vacating house costs nothing.

Verified Listers (property owners/managers) pay a separate subscription — pricing is set by the admin and visible on the apply page.

SMS Alerts — You can purchase SMS bundles to receive text notifications when new properties match your preferences.

After registering with your phone number and verifying via OTP, you'll complete a quick onboarding step:

• Moving to a new place? — List your current property first, then get hunting access.
• First time renting? — You can browse immediately after paying the hunting fee.
• Property owner / manager / developer? — Apply to become a Verified Lister and list units directly.

You'll also receive a welcome SMS to confirm your registration.

Click "List Property" in the navigation. The form guides you through everything:

• Building — Search for an existing building or create a new one (prevents duplicates). Upload a main building image for reviews.
• Basic Info — Title, description, rent, house type, available date. Upload at least 5 unit photos and optionally a video tour (max 45 seconds).
• Location — Estate, landmark, coordinates.
• Utilities & Amenities — Water, electricity, security, parking, backup power, internet, furnished, balcony, garbage collection.
• Location & Surroundings — Distance from road, noise level (quiet/moderate/noisy), nearby shopping, worship, schools, area security.
• Lease & Terms — Tenancy agreement, lawyer charges, agency charges.
• Caretaker & Landlord — Contact details for the caretaker, landlord, and agent (if any).

You can Save as Draft and finish later, or Publish immediately.

Each property belongs to a Building record. When listing, you search for an existing building by name. If it exists (same name + estate + area), you select it. If not, you create a new one. This prevents duplicate listings for the same building.

The building's main image persists even after individual units are vacated, so reviews stay tied to the building — not the listing. Future tenants can read reviews about a building regardless of which unit was listed.

Vacant Kenya uses a 4-confirmation community verification system. When a property is taken:

• The new tenant can click "I've moved in — mark as occupied" on the listing page.
• This changes the status to "occupied" and records the date.
• The building stays in the system so future tenants can leave reviews.
• Listers can also mark their property as taken when it's no longer available.

Occupied listings are moved to the "Recently Taken" section. The system awards reputation points for confirming occupancy.

Reviews are tied to Buildings, not individual listings. This means you can review a building even after a specific unit has been vacated and a new tenant has moved in.

• Only verified tenants who have confirmed occupancy can leave a review.
• Reviews include a star rating (1-5) and written feedback.
• Everyone can browse building reviews at /reviews.
• The building's main image and name are always displayed with reviews.

We accept M-Pesa payments via STK push. To get hunting access:

1. Go to the Payments section in your dashboard.
2. Click "Get Hunting Access" to initiate an M-Pesa STK push.
3. Enter your M-Pesa PIN on your phone to confirm.
4. Access is activated immediately upon confirmation.

You can also purchase SMS bundles from your SMS Settings page to receive text alerts for new listings.

SMS alerts notify you instantly when new properties match your preferences:

• Go to SMS Settings in your dashboard.
• Toggle alerts on and set your filters: house types, locations, and rent range.
• Purchase an SMS bundle (e.g. 100 SMS for KES 500 — admin configurable).
• Each alert deducts 1 SMS from your balance.

You'll also receive SMS notifications for new messages from other users. Keep your balance topped up from the SMS settings page.

Verified Listers are property owners, developers, or letting agents who have been approved by our admin team to list units directly — without needing to be "moving out" of a current property.

To become a Verified Lister:

1. Select "Property owner / manager / developer" during onboarding.
2. Complete the application at /become-verified-lister — upload proof of ownership/management.
3. Admin reviews and approves your application.
4. Pay the lister subscription fee (set by admin) to start listing.
5. Your listings display a ✅ Verified Lister badge.

Once you have active hunting access, click the Message Lister button on any property listing page.

You'll be able to send a direct message through our in-app messaging system. Your messages appear in your Conversations inbox (dashboard).

When you receive a new message, you'll get an SMS notification (if SMS alerts are enabled and you have balance).

No agents, no middlemen — just direct communication between you and the person listing the property.

Vacant Kenya has multiple layers of protection against rental scams:

• Phone verification — All users must verify their phone number via OTP.
• 4-confirmation community system — Listings are verified by the community.
• Building reviews — Previous tenants leave honest reviews about buildings.
• Verified Lister — Property owners are vetted and approved by admin.
• Admin moderation — Suspicious listings are reviewed and removed.
• Report button — Flag suspicious listings for immediate review.
• Name cannot be changed — Prevents scammers from rebranding after being flagged.

If you find a suspicious listing, report it immediately using the flag icon on the listing page.

Use the advanced search filters on the Browse page to narrow down listings:

• House type — Bedsitter, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, etc.
• Price range — Min and max monthly rent.
• Location — Search by area name.
• Amenities — Water, electricity, security, parking, backup power, internet, furnished, balcony, garbage collection.
• Noise level — Quiet, moderate, or noisy.
• Charges — Lawyer charges, agency charges.
• Distance from road — Minutes walking.
• Sort — Newest, price low-high, price high-low.

Enable SMS alerts to be notified immediately when new properties matching your filters are listed.