What's a typical lease term in Nairobi?

5 years for institutional Class A. Shorter terms are achievable on smaller floor plates with stronger covenants.

How is rent quoted in Nairobi?

In KES/sqft/year. We also publish a USD-normalised view ($10/sqft/yr) for cross-market comparison.

Net leases.

Typical lease length: 5 years.
Typical rent-free: 6 months.
Vacancy: 21.4%; trend flat.
Net leases.

Nairobi office lease norms

Net leases.

TL;DR

Typical lease length: 5 years.
Typical rent-free: 6 months.
Vacancy: 21.4%; trend flat.
Net leases.

Structure

Net leases. 5-6 year terms with escalation clauses. Free rent of 4-8 months and TI of KES 4,000-7,000/sqm typical.

Negotiating levers

Free rent and TI remain the most negotiable line items; landlords prefer concessions to face-rent cuts because they preserve headline rent and implied valuation. Always model effective rent (face minus PV of concessions).

Key facts

city	Nairobi
country	Kenya
region	EMEA
classARentLocal	1300 KES/sqft/yr
classARentUsd	$10/sqft/yr
vacancy	21.4%
typicalLeaseYears	5
typicalRentFreeMonths	6
submarkets	5
primeYieldPct	9.8%

Frequently asked questions

What's a typical lease term in Nairobi?: 5 years for institutional Class A. Shorter terms are achievable on smaller floor plates with stronger covenants.
How is rent quoted in Nairobi?: In KES/sqft/year. We also publish a USD-normalised view ($10/sqft/yr) for cross-market comparison.

Editorial provenance

Reviewed by Samuel Okafor — EMEA contributing editor. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our methodology and editorial standards.

Primary sources for this page

CBRE Marketview reports — CBRE
JLL Office Insight — JLL
Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat — Cushman & Wakefield
Savills World Research — Savills
Colliers Global Office Outlook — Colliers

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