Are you looking for a house to rent in Kigali? What are you looking for? After relocating from my fast-paced city life, I craved “quiet, calm, and away from the city”—my zen retreat. Renting a House in Kigali offers a variety of options for tourists, expats, locals, and investors. Whether you want to be near work, school, city or that cozy café, the choices are endless! Spacious homes with modern amenities or budget-friendly? That choice will be yours.

Moving to a new city is like unwrapping a surprise gift, but house-hunting without help can feel like shaking a soda can—you’re bound to get messy, and emotions might bubble over.

This article could be your guide as it shares lessons learned on what to avoid and consider when renting a house in Kigali.

5 Quick Tips For Hassle-Free Renting in Kigali

 One should know a few house-hunting tips before renting a home:

1. Don’t rush to find a place. You’ll probably move from one house to another in three months due to the frustrations of uninhabitable living conditions.
2. Standard requirements: Be ready to learn how people live in Kigali without comparing it to where you come from. Not all houses in Kigali have the ‘acceptable’ standard requirements of your choice. 
3. If you are on a fixed budget, you may have to sacrifice some things When weighing your options, it’s important to prioritize your needs. While some houses in Kigali may be very affordable, you might face additional costs related to security and finding a reliable internet service provider for your location.
4. Ensure the contract signed for the house with the owner favors you, like a vacating notice period should be 30 days. Unfortunately, some Kigali landlords would take a new tenant without giving you notice due to personal reasons best known to themselves.
5. Visit the site before signing any contract. We found a stunning house on a Kigali listing site, but when we visited, it was nothing close to what was advertised. It felt like ordering a beautiful dress for an event and getting a smaller size that couldn’t fit.

Types of Homes Available in Kigali

Generally speaking, the types of homes available to rent in Kigali can be broken down into the following categories: 

• House shares with other expats
• Homestays with a live-in landlord 
• Renting an entire house or compound
• Unfurnished or furnished apartments
• Luxurious serviced apartments 

How to Find Houses and Apartments to Rent in Kigali

Facebook Groups

Find Facebook local groups and request to join

Find groups that have lots of members

Edit your Facebook profile on where you live to avoid being filtered out or identified as a spam

Facebook Group in Kigali to try is 

Living in Kigali, one of the groups to help you find houses and apartments in Kigali.

While house hunting through Facebook, I would recommend having patience because the search process could take some time and be vigilant that not all posts are legit. However, on the LIK FB Page, you will find legit advertisers who are vetted before advertising.

Property Listing Websites 

Several websites in Kigali have houses to rent, for sale, and other related items. They have professional teams who help you find a place and visit sites. The filters to search in these websites are neighborhood, price range, the number of bedrooms, furnished/unfurnished, and facilities to find in these marketed houses. Some of these websites also have YouTube,Tiktok channels to help you view the vacant houses.

Friends and Colleagues

Referrals are the typical way most locals survive in the house-hunting period here in Kigali. They rely on friends and colleagues to recommend a commissionaire who once helped them find a solution in the past. Depending on your agreement, these referrals would still request the visitation fee, which is negotiable. This method was frankly relatively easier for me when we used it.

Working With Commissionaires/Agents

Things you should describe for the house requirements while dealing with a commissionaire when house hunting to save you headaches:

• Preferred location with approximate distance to the main road, gym, school, hospital, or any amenity that is very important to you
• Your budget for the commission and house rent willing to pay
• Number of rooms whether furnished or unfurnished
• Do you want to be alone in the compound or prefer to share?

These tips will save you from having a forced tour in the hills of Rwanda that you had not signed up for.

Common Scams and Problems

It’s unfortunate that someone new in Kigali can be a perfect victim of scams and problems associated with commissionaires. Here are a few red flags to avoid:

1. If the commission structure is not transparent, avoid committing yourself to regrettable choices
2. If you are requested to pay physical cash of a foreign currency because you’re identified as a foreigner, politely decline.
3. Pay a deposit before a previous tenant has vacated. Quite uncertain when the tenant will be vacating.
4. Booking a house before seeing it at the site might give you a shock
5. The photos don’t match the description of the property upon arrival at site
6. Be aware of commissionaires who are rushing you into making your decision.
7. Some commissionaires will not give you the house owner’s contact information until you submit their high commission rates.
8. Some commissionaires are not honest in giving detailed information. You may think you have found the house and paid a considerable commission rate only to find that the house owner had a specific condition that is not favorable to you, yet the commissionaire was aware of it.
9. Do not accept to pay for unnecessary house viewings after giving precise details of the house requirements you want.

Conclusion

Renting a House in Kigali has many factors to consider, especially your lifestyle choice and your landlord’s character.

However, you have to plan early to have a bigger chance of getting the standard requirement of the dream house you are willing to pay. Be patient when you find hiked rental prices or apartments that don’t meet your standard. There is always a price that matches your budget and a place to call home when you continue searching.