Maximum loan and house price you can afford from your net salary.
Maximum house price
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Net monthly pay
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Max repayment
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Max loan
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Your breakdown
Updates live as you type
Item
Amount
Worked example
Take a buyer earning KES 200,000 gross a month, with a KES 1,000,000 deposit saved, looking at a 20-year mortgage at 13.5% a year. After the standard Kenyan deductions the net pay is about KES 138,643. Lenders cap repayments at a share of net income, and at the common 40% ceiling the most this buyer can service is KES 55,457 a month.
Step
Value
Gross monthly pay
KES 200,000
Net monthly pay
KES 138,642.65
Max repayment (40% of net)
KES 55,457.06
Supported loan (20 yr at 13.5%)
KES 4,593,193.88
Plus deposit
KES 1,000,000
Affordable property price
KES 5,593,193.88
A KES 55,457 monthly repayment supports a loan of about KES 4,593,194 over 20 years, and adding the deposit gives an affordable price near KES 5,593,194. The chart below shows how the deposit and the borrowed amount make up that budget.
How it is calculated
Affordability starts from net pay, not gross, because lenders assess what is genuinely available after statutory deductions. The tool runs your gross through the full Kenyan payslip to get net pay, then applies the repayment-to-income ratio you choose, with 40% a common lender benchmark, to find the maximum monthly repayment. It then inverts the amortisation formula: the supportable loan equals the maximum repayment times one minus (1 plus the monthly rate) raised to the negative number of months, all divided by the monthly rate. The monthly rate is the annual rate divided by 12 and the term is the years times 12. Adding your deposit to that loan gives the price you can realistically target. Treat the ratio as indicative, since lenders also weigh existing debts, age, and the loan-to-value limit, and Kenyan mortgage rates move with the Central Bank Rate, so a higher rate shrinks the loan a given repayment can support.
Frequently asked questions
How much mortgage can I afford in Kenya?
Lenders cap your repayment at a share of net pay, often around 40% to 50%. This tool takes your take-home pay after PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, and the housing levy, applies your chosen ratio to set a maximum repayment, then works backwards through the loan rate and term to a maximum loan, and adds your deposit for the house price.
Why does the calculator use net pay rather than gross salary for affordability?
Lenders assess what you genuinely have available after statutory deductions, not your headline gross. Kenyan payslips carry PAYE, NSSF, SHIF contributions, and the housing levy before you see a shilling, so the usable amount for debt service is your net pay. Using gross would overstate how much you can borrow and set a budget that your take-home cannot actually support.
What deposit do I need for a home loan in Kenya?
Most Kenyan mortgage lenders require a minimum deposit of 10 to 20 percent of the property value, giving a loan-to-value ratio of 80 to 90 percent. A larger deposit reduces the loan you need, lowers the monthly repayment, and can sometimes secure a better interest rate. Enter your saved deposit into this calculator to see how it affects the house price you can target.
How does a higher interest rate affect what I can borrow?
A higher rate increases the monthly cost of any given loan, which means the same maximum repayment supports a smaller principal. On a KES 5 million loan the difference between 12 and 15 percent annual interest is roughly KES 8,000 to 10,000 a month, so a rate rise of a few points can reduce the loan you qualify for by several hundred thousand shillings. Adjust the rate field to the current market quote before treating the result as your budget.