What room brokers in Nepal actually charge
Room broking in Kathmandu is unregulated. There is no standard fee, no receipt in most cases, and no guarantee attached to the money you hand over. These are the figures reported in February 2026, so you can at least tell whether what you are being asked for is normal.
The success fee
| What you rent | Renter pays | Landlord pays |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | NPR 2,000 | NPR 2,000 |
| Two rooms | NPR 3,000 | NPR 2,000 |
| Flat | NPR 4,000 | NPR 2,000 |
The upfront fee comes first
Before any of that, brokers commonly charge around NPR 500 for a month of access to the rooms on their list. That is payable whether or not you find anything, and one renter quoted in the reporting could not reach the broker for two weeks after paying it.
Landlords pay too — about NPR 2,000 per tenant
This is the part landlords are often surprised by. House owners reported paying roughly NPR 2,000 to a broker for each tenant placed, mainly to avoid a long vacancy. Many were unaware there is no legal requirement to pay it at all. Over a few turnovers that is a meaningful sum for a service that a free listing does the same job as.
The patterns worth recognising
These come up repeatedly in reporting on Kathmandu rentals. None of them are sophisticated, and all of them are easier to spot once named.
“The owner is away, so there are no photos”
A room nobody will photograph is the oldest signal there is. A real vacancy can always be photographed on a phone in two minutes.
Photos that are years old
Ask when the photo was taken and ask for one more, taken today, of a specific thing — the bathroom, the stairs, the view from the window.
Deposit before viewing
Never send money by eSewa or any other transfer before standing in the room. There is no situation where this is necessary.
The price does not match the room
One family was shown single rooms at NPR 13,000–15,000 in an area where two-room units let for the same money. Check the going rate for the area before you are standing in front of someone.
Manufactured urgency
“Three other people are seeing it today” is a sales technique. A genuine landlord will let you take an hour to think.
What Kotha Chaiyo does differently
This platform is free for both sides. That is not generosity, it is the entire point — the fees above exist because a middleman sits between two people who could simply talk to each other.
No fee, either side
Renters pay nothing. Landlords pay nothing. There is no success fee, no listing fee and no commission, so the NPR 2,000 a landlord would hand a broker per tenant stays with them.
Every listing has a photo
A listing cannot go live without at least one photo of the room. This is enforced in the database, not merely requested, which is what makes the “no photos” pattern above impossible here.
You contact the landlord directly
Listings carry the landlord's own number and open straight into WhatsApp. Nobody sits in between, so nobody can charge for the introduction.
Published rent figures
The rental price index shows what rooms actually let for by city and type, calculated from real listings, so you can tell an inflated quote from a fair one before you go.
Common questions
How much does a room broker charge in Kathmandu?
Around NPR 500 upfront for a month of access to their listings, then NPR 2,000 for a single room, NPR 3,000 for two rooms or NPR 4,000 for a flat once you take one. Landlords are separately asked for about NPR 2,000 per tenant. These figures were reported by the Kathmandu Post in February 2026; there is no regulated rate.
Is a landlord legally required to pay a broker commission in Nepal?
No. Room broking in Nepal is unregulated, and the reporting found many house owners paying roughly NPR 2,000 per tenant without realising it was optional. You are free to list a room yourself and deal with tenants directly.
Do I have to pay a broker to find a room in Kathmandu?
No. You can contact landlords directly through free platforms, including this one, and pay nothing at all. Brokers are one route to a room, not the only one.
How can I tell if a room listing is fake?
The strongest signal is photographs. Be wary of any listing with none, or with photos the poster will not add to on request. Never transfer a deposit before seeing the room in person, and check the area's typical rent first so an inflated price stands out.
How much is a security deposit in Nepal?
Most Kathmandu landlords ask for one to three months of rent, with two months being the most common. Nepali law does not set a maximum. Agree in writing what the deposit covers and what conditions apply to getting it back.