Informal rental housing remains a hidden – yet central – pillar of low-cost shelter markets across the global South. The large informal settlement of Mathare Valley illustrates Nairobi’s rapidly changing informal rental housing markets, with the ongoing rise of tenements alongside metal shacks. Informal single-room rental units (shacks and tenements) already house most Nairobi residents in low-quality but highly profitable shelter. This case study describes how multiple exclusions can shape access to rental housing and examines the politics of shelter delivery. We underscore the importance of private rental markets and offer recommendations for inclusive, multi-pronged interventions combining support for rental housing, land governance and infrastructure delivery. Through a better understanding of the myriad actors and dynamics of informal rental housing, it may be possible to develop strategies that serve low-income tenants for whom renting is often the only viable option.

非正式的租赁房屋仍然是整个南方低成本住房市场的一个隐藏但仍是核心的支柱。Mathare山谷的大型非正式定居点说明了内罗毕快速变化的非正式租赁住房市场，随着物业单位的不断增加以及金属棚屋的出现。非正式的单室出租单位（棚屋和物业单位）已经将大多数内罗毕居民安置在低质但高利润的住房中。本案例研究描述了多个排斥因素如何影响出租房屋的使用，并考察了庇护所交付的政治性。我们强调私人租赁市场的重要性，并为包容性，多管齐下的干预措施提供建议，这些干预措施结合了对租赁房屋，土地治理和基础设施交付的支持。