Economic Consequences of Rent Control in Kenyai a Case Study of Eastleigh, Nairobi

Abstract

The thesis begins by stating the obvious: that- rent control has to be seen in the context of a severe housing shortage in Kenya, and spells out specific a priori hypotheses to be tested. It then reviews the theoretical literature on rent control, the nature of rent control experience elsewhere and the history and current legal status of the Rent Restriction Act in Kenya. All this is a prelude to the main thrust of the study: to analyse data obtained for a sample of plots that are subject to rent control in the Eastleigh area of Nairobi, An estimate is made of the scope and effectiveness of rent control in Kenya, the equitable and distributional aspects of rent control are ana? ysed and various hypotheses about the economic consequences of rent control are tested. Arising from this, the study suggests ways in which the scope and effectiveness of rent^pontrol may be widened..............................