DSQ (domestic staff quarters)

A DSQ is usually built at the back or side of the compound, separate from the main house, with its own entrance and, in most cases, its own shower and toilet. Some are a single room; larger ones have a small kitchen or two rooms.

Kenyans use a DSQ for live-in domestic staff, for a guard, for visiting family, as a home office or store, or let it out separately for extra income. Because DSQs are so common in Nairobi's family houses, listings mention them often, and buyers and tenants use the DSQ as a quick sign of a house's size and class.

The term is the Kenyan equivalent of the "boys' quarters" (BQ) used in Nigeria and Ghana. On Kenya Property Centre, "DSQ", "SQ", "servant quarters" and "BQ" are treated as the same amenity.

Listing figure. The figures box shows the share of live houses for sale on Kenya Property Centre whose description mentions a DSQ.

What to expect. A small DSQ is usually a single room with a shower and toilet. Larger ones in upmarket suburbs can be a full two-room unit with its own kitchen, used as a guest wing. In listings, "SQ" and "DSQ" are used the same way, and "servant quarters" is the older term. Some landlords now prefer "staff quarters".

• Nairobi suburbs (Karen, Runda, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kitisuru): DSQs are standard on larger family houses and are often detached.
• Satellite-town estates: many newer maisonettes and townhouses include a DSQ, sometimes built into the main house.
• Coast: larger houses and villas often have a staff wing rather than a separate DSQ.