Your Ksh 120M–Ksh 450M rental in Westlands, Lavington, Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Riverside or Karen is generating great income — until you decide to sell and discover the tenants have turned it into a junkyard, hoarder’s den, or permanent party house.
Professional photos? Impossible. Viewings? Embarrassing. Offers? Zero.
Yet every single month in 2025, Realty Boris sells tenanted properties that look like disaster zones — quickly and at strong prices. Here are the exact 7 strategies that actually work.
1. Sell Tenanted to Professional Landlords (Zero Cleaning Required)
The easiest and fastest exit. Buy-and-hold investors actively hunt fully-tenanted buildings in Kilimani and Westlands. They don’t need to see inside — they buy on yield and sort the mess after leases expire naturally. Recent close: Ksh 312M Kileleshwa 10-unit block (4 units hoarded to the ceiling) sold in 8 days to a pension fund.
2. Cash-for-Keys on Steroids – Pay Them to Leave & Clean
The nuclear option that works every time. 2025 going rates for nightmare tenants:
- Standard messy: 2–4 months rent
- True hoarder / pet disaster: 6–12 months rent + free moving truck A Lavington 5-bed tenant with 22 cats and floor-to-ceiling junk accepted Ksh 1.35M cash-for-keys → house staged → sold 22 days later for Ksh 395M.
3. Hire a Professional Hoarder/Tenant Relocation Team
Specialist companies now exist in Nairobi that:
- Negotiate the exit
- Pack and move everything (yes, even 400 boxes of newspapers)
- Deep-clean and repaint Cost Ksh 800K–Ksh 2.8M, but adds Ksh 15M–Ksh 45M to final sale price.
4. Price Aggressively & Sell “As-Is, Tenant Included”
Drop the price 8–15% below market and disclose everything. Attracts renovators and developers who were going to gut-renovate anyway. Ksh 208M Kilimani 8-unit block (5 tenants refusing access) sold in 12 days cash to a developer who started demolition 3 months later.
5. Market During the Legal 3-Month Notice Period
Serve termination notice and start showing immediately. Many buyers love collecting rent while waiting for vacant possession. Works especially well with corporate/diplomatic tenants who always leave on time.
6. Stage Around the Chaos (Yes, It’s a Real Service Now)
Professional stagers offer “occupied-chaos staging”:
- Clear only walkways and key rooms
- Use slipcovers, air purifiers, and strategic lighting
- Shoot photos from the best 30% of the house A Westlands 4-bed with a tenant who hadn’t thrown anything away since 2018 sold for Ksh 188M using this method.
7. Convert to Short-Let First → Sell Vacant & Beautiful
If leases are month-to-month, switch to Airbnb/serviced lets for 60–120 days (often at 2–3× normal rent), then deliver sparkling vacant possession. A Riverside mansion that looked like a landfill earned Ksh 2.1M on short-let while we renovated → sold vacant for Ksh 428M.
Decision Matrix – Which Strategy Fits Your Tenants?
| Tenant Nightmare Level | Best 2025 Strategy | Typical Sale Timeline | Price Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slightly messy, cooperative | Cash-for-keys | 18–35 days | +8% to +15% |
| Full hoarder, pets, mountains | Professional relocation team | 35–60 days | +12% to +25% |
| Refusing access, long lease left | Sell tenanted to investor | 7–21 days | –5% to –12% |
| Month-to-month, just dirty | Short-let → sell vacant | 75–110 days | Highest possible |
| Diplomatic/corporate tenant | Market during notice period | 45–80 days | Minimal discount |
The Bottom Line
Bad tenants don’t have to handcuff you to a property forever. Pick the right strategy and you can be cashed out in weeks instead of years — often for more money than if you waited for perfect vacancy.
Ready to finally sell your tenanted property in the upmarket — no matter how bad the tenants have made it look? Contact Realty Boris today. We’ve moved out more nightmare tenants in 2025 than any other agency and we’ll give you a free, custom exit plan that gets you the maximum price in the shortest time.
