Selfless Kenyan Landlord Forgoes Sh456,000 After Offering Rent Waiver to Tenants

A landlord who wowed Kenyans in April after he offered a rent waiver to his tenants due to the Covid-19 pandemic has done it once more.

Dr. Michael Munene, who owns several residential and commercial units at Ndunyu Njeru trading center, Nyandarua county, waived rent to cushion his tenants from the economic effects of the pandemic.

For the past three months, his tenants have not been paying rent and on Tuesday, he extended the waiver by another month.

“I know that they are going through hard times and since God has blessed me with rental houses, it is good that I also extend his mercies to them,” Munene said.

The waiver, he said, will help his tenants be able to afford food and other basic needs for their families.

“At least, they can now feed their families using the money they had saved for rent. This way, they will live comfortably during these hard times,” he added.

Jane Muthoni, one of Munene’s tenants, described her landlord as heaven sent. “This is a God sent landlord. We will now be able to feed our children and also clothe them during these hard times,” she said.

He has 28 residential houses each going for Sh3,000 per month and Sh5,000 for six commercial stores. 

In total, Munene takes home Sh114,000 monthly from the property, meaning he surrendered Sh456,000 in rental income for the four months.