Galloping house rent

Increase in house rent over the past 25 years has been estimated at 412.97 per cent, according to the Consumers' Association of Bangladesh (CAB). This speaks volumes of the anarchy reigning supreme in this vital area of economy and life. House rent has registered a rise between 15 to 22 per cent since 2006 with the exception of last year when it was 10 per cent. Maybe, this lower increase has something to do with the slump experienced in the housing sector of the country in recent times. Or, it may be a consequence of a far graver development. Can it have any relation to the movement of an ever increasing number of tenants from the main city to suburbs or beyond? Yet it must be admitted that the average increase of 10 per cent in rent is untenable by economic theories or laws. After all, this is contrary to the yearly depreciation of accommodation.
In the United States, living in cities or towns is rated according to the facilities, house rent and various other opportunities. Accommodation in certain cities or towns there suddenly becomes damn cheap. Here in Bangladesh, the exodus to the capital and a few other urban centres explain the gap between the demand and supply. Capital Dhaka obviously tops the list. There is a rent control act under which house rent should be assessed at 15 per cent of the total cost of land and construction of the building. But the law is more on paper than its execution at the grass-roots level. Even the websites of Dhaka City Corporations (DCCs) show monthly house rent of 10 different zones but no one complies with the chart. When the legal provisions are defied with impunity, it is the tenants who discover themselves at the mercy of the house owners. Disorganised, tenants are always at the receiving end. They have to put up with irrational and arbitrary demands of the landlords. All because, once they start staying in an accommodation, they try to avoid the hassles of changing residents too often.
It is exactly for this reason, a pro-tenant authority with required power should be there to supervise the tenancy issue. A data bank of all the residential facilities for rent should be prepared. Also a clear demarcation between residential and commercial uses of houses should be made so that the two are not confused and rent paid accordingly. Intriguingly, there is not a precise record of houses to let in the capital. So, the two DCCs should immediately make an accurate assessment of such houses with details. The purpose of such an assessment would be to fix rents according to location, amenities and condition of the accommodation in question.
If the salient features are with the rent control authority, they can easily take the initiative in favour of fixing a reasonable rent for a particular flat or house. Arbitrary increase in rent should be totally prohibited. If the building or facilities worsen over the years for lack of maintenance, the house owner should be compelled to accept lower rents on account of depreciating value. Measures like these can only bring an end to anarchy in tenancy.