Of house owner, tenant and house rent
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Shafiqul Alam
Dhaka, being the capital and the centre of trade, commerce, industry and education, has been experiencing rapid growth of population which has led to a phenomenal increase in housing demand in the city. Due to this demand, the house owners are increasing and realising rents at their whims in recent years. This irrational rate of increase in house rents has become a serious burden on the people of the fixed-income bracket. As the overall cost of living has also increased, the increase in house rent is logical but the rate of increase has to be reasonable too. Recently, a relative of mine, who has been residing in the same house for the last seven to eight years, has been asked to evacuate for a month on the ground of renovation and after renovation the rent would be nearly double than the present. This message has been given to the rest of the tenants too. My relative requested the house owner to adjourn the renovation work till March 2012 as his son will sit for the SSC exam next year, but the owner remained firm in his decision. The house owner has strictly told the tenants to leave and whether the tenants would stay or not after renovation at an increased rent is a matter of their choice. This is truly harassment. Undoubtedly, it is quite difficult to find a suitable house in the middle of a year and that too only for one month. Equally, it is very difficult for a family to stay for one month in relative's house especially in a city like Dhaka. Another relative, living at Rampura, has also been informed that the rent would be increased by nearly 40 per cent next year. Anyway, they have accepted it as they have been paying at the same rate for two years and the owner has informed the issue in advance. But surprisingly, a few days back, the house owner asked all the tenants to pay and extra Tk 200 each in every month as a charge of installing separate electricity metres for each tenant. Question arises, why the tenants have to pay the cost of a metre, how long they have to pay and how much the price of a metre is? There are some other issues too. If price of all essentials increase by more than 20-30 per cent and the house owners also increase the rent by 20-30 per cent, where will the general people go? Certainly, nowhere, but they have to compromise with many other things in their lives. What is the yearly increment rate of a government service holder? How many private organisations revise salary every year or how much is the increment rate? Is the rate at which house rent increases justified? According to the Dhaka City Corporation rates, the rent in Gulshan Avenue area is Tk 15-18 per square feet, Tk 14-16 in Banani, Tk 11-11.50 in Mohakhali, Tk 6.50-7 in Nakhalpara, Tk 6 in Kalyanpur and Pallabi, Tk 5-9 in Uttara, Tk 5-6 in Shantibagh, Tk 9 in Naya Paltan, Tk 8.50-9 in Shantinagar, Tk 8 in Jhigatola and Tk 8 in west Dhanmondi region. But unfortunately, those rates have never been implemented rather house owners charge arbitrarily. In case of a house that has two bedrooms of medium size with dining or drawing space is charged between Taka 10,000 and 15,000 (excluding service and other charges) depending on the area (Motijheel, Shantinagar Arambag) and the rate might increase in other posh areas. The majority of the city dwellers live in rented houses and needless to say that they are bearing the brunt of arbitrary increase of house rents every year. Even when the government cannot ensure housing for all, it must formulate laws regarding house rent, and enforce them effectively, to ensure that the owners of the houses do not charge the tenants unreasonably. It is worth mentioning that tenants from all socio-economic backgrounds in Dhaka are facing the same problem as the landlords, more often than not, increase the rents irrationally. People of the fixed-income group are hit hard as a major portion of their income is spent on house rent purpose. Over the years, there has been little monitoring of house rent in Dhaka city and as such, the house owners are taking undue benefits and the tenants are paying the price silently. But surely, the solution to the problem lies in the hands of the authorities concerned. The writer can be reached at e-mail : shafiqul0032@yahoo.com
Dhaka, being the capital and the centre of trade, commerce, industry and education, has been experiencing rapid growth of population which has led to a phenomenal increase in housing demand in the city. Due to this demand, the house owners are increasing and realising rents at their whims in recent years. This irrational rate of increase in house rents has become a serious burden on the people of the fixed-income bracket. As the overall cost of living has also increased, the increase in house rent is logical but the rate of increase has to be reasonable too. Recently, a relative of mine, who has been residing in the same house for the last seven to eight years, has been asked to evacuate for a month on the ground of renovation and after renovation the rent would be nearly double than the present. This message has been given to the rest of the tenants too. My relative requested the house owner to adjourn the renovation work till March 2012 as his son will sit for the SSC exam next year, but the owner remained firm in his decision. The house owner has strictly told the tenants to leave and whether the tenants would stay or not after renovation at an increased rent is a matter of their choice. This is truly harassment. Undoubtedly, it is quite difficult to find a suitable house in the middle of a year and that too only for one month. Equally, it is very difficult for a family to stay for one month in relative's house especially in a city like Dhaka. Another relative, living at Rampura, has also been informed that the rent would be increased by nearly 40 per cent next year. Anyway, they have accepted it as they have been paying at the same rate for two years and the owner has informed the issue in advance. But surprisingly, a few days back, the house owner asked all the tenants to pay and extra Tk 200 each in every month as a charge of installing separate electricity metres for each tenant. Question arises, why the tenants have to pay the cost of a metre, how long they have to pay and how much the price of a metre is? There are some other issues too. If price of all essentials increase by more than 20-30 per cent and the house owners also increase the rent by 20-30 per cent, where will the general people go? Certainly, nowhere, but they have to compromise with many other things in their lives. What is the yearly increment rate of a government service holder? How many private organisations revise salary every year or how much is the increment rate? Is the rate at which house rent increases justified? According to the Dhaka City Corporation rates, the rent in Gulshan Avenue area is Tk 15-18 per square feet, Tk 14-16 in Banani, Tk 11-11.50 in Mohakhali, Tk 6.50-7 in Nakhalpara, Tk 6 in Kalyanpur and Pallabi, Tk 5-9 in Uttara, Tk 5-6 in Shantibagh, Tk 9 in Naya Paltan, Tk 8.50-9 in Shantinagar, Tk 8 in Jhigatola and Tk 8 in west Dhanmondi region. But unfortunately, those rates have never been implemented rather house owners charge arbitrarily. In case of a house that has two bedrooms of medium size with dining or drawing space is charged between Taka 10,000 and 15,000 (excluding service and other charges) depending on the area (Motijheel, Shantinagar Arambag) and the rate might increase in other posh areas. The majority of the city dwellers live in rented houses and needless to say that they are bearing the brunt of arbitrary increase of house rents every year. Even when the government cannot ensure housing for all, it must formulate laws regarding house rent, and enforce them effectively, to ensure that the owners of the houses do not charge the tenants unreasonably. It is worth mentioning that tenants from all socio-economic backgrounds in Dhaka are facing the same problem as the landlords, more often than not, increase the rents irrationally. People of the fixed-income group are hit hard as a major portion of their income is spent on house rent purpose. Over the years, there has been little monitoring of house rent in Dhaka city and as such, the house owners are taking undue benefits and the tenants are paying the price silently. But surely, the solution to the problem lies in the hands of the authorities concerned. The writer can be reached at e-mail : shafiqul0032@yahoo.com