Many relegated to lower-quality residences, food recipe

A degrading standard of living amid higher inflation and housing costs forces many to rent small homes or shared ones especially in towns and cities, besides compromising on food intake, analysts say and official findings attest.
The tenants across the country are being compelled to hire the sublets or small residence as house-rents have been on a sharp rise over the years, latest SVRS report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) shows.
According to the BBS, the rate of receiver of the sublets in Bangladesh has doubled in last couple of years.
The rate of the tenants at the sublets or shared houses rose to 4.1 per cent in 2023 from 2.4 per cent two years back in 2021, the BBS statistics show.
This rate has shown the steepest rise over the last three years. The rate of sublet receivers in 2022 was recorded at 3.1 per cent, according to the government statistics.
In the cities and towns, the rate of sublet residents had increased significantly to 6.0 per cent in 2023 from 5.8 per cent in 2022 and 4.1 per cent in 2021.
Even in the rural areas, the rate of sublet holders had also hiked to 3.48 per cent in 2023 from 2.52 per cent in 2022 and 1.85 per cent in 2021.
On the other hand, single households (HHs) have decreased over the last few years in Bangladesh as the rate dropped to 95 per cent in 2023 from 96 per cent in 2022 and 97.1 per cent in 2021.
In the cities, the single HHs have been on a faster fall as it was recorded at 92.6 per cent in 2023, 97 per cent in 2022, and 94.7 per cent in 2021.
Meanwhile, Dhaka's house rents hop up undeterred in times fair or foul as official data show the rentals increased nearly 6.0 pc even after the pandemic virus had sent many of the city-dwellers on an exodus.
House rents in Bangladesh rose on average by 5.89 percent in the October-December period in the last fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, placing an additional burden on many lower-and middle-income households, the latest BBS data showed.
The latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) report of the BBS shows that people spend 18.89 per cent of their total expenditures for renting homes, which is extremely high.
People are forced to cut their expenditure in nutritious food consumption for the higher expenditure for the housing, the analysts say.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Research Director Dr KG Moazzem told the FE that the ongoing higher inflationary pressure and food prices forced people to look for sublets or shared houses.
"In most cases, the house-owners demand higher house rent. That is forcing the lower-income people to rent sublets instead of single household," he added.
If the trend is going on, many people will be forced to compromise on their food recipe and shift their money for paying higher rents to stay in their workplaces, says the economist at the CPD.

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