(HERALD) Rental madness
Rental madnessFriday, 13 January 2012 00:00
Peter Matambanadzo and Wenceslaus Murape
RENTALS in Harare and its satellite towns have gone up by over 30 percent, with tenants in high-density suburbs worst affected.
This comes as most workers are still negotiating increments with their emp-loyers.
Some tenants are, however, still paying last year's rates.
In Warren Park, charges per room went up to between US$85 and US$120 from US$50. Glen View tenants now pay US$85, up from US$40 per room.
In Marlborough, rentals shot up to US$150, from US$70 per room.
A bed-sitter in the Avenues now co-sts US$300, from US$200, while a one-bedroomed flat now costs over US$360, up from US$300.
A two-bedroomed flat now costs US$500 from US$350 and US$400 per month.
In Marondera, Norton and Chitungwiza rentals went up to around US$65 per room, up from between US$30 and US40 per month.
Full houses in areas like Mt Pleasant have gone up to a maximum of $3 000 from $2 500.
A property manager attributed the increases to tenants offering more to secure accommodation.
"When you advertise a property, you usually find that someone offers more than the asking price to make sure that they get it.
"As a result, you peg the rental value of all other similar properties on that new price and the trend just spreads in the whole area."
The Herald has been inundated with calls from tenants complaining over the increases in rentals against the backdrop of stagnant incomes and stable prices for basic commodities.
"The increase in rentals is unjustified. Landlords just wake up and tell you they have increased rent. I was sent a text message by my landlord saying with effect from January 1 my new rent would be US$365 from US$300 for a one-bedroomed flat in the Avenues. No reason was given for the increase," one tenant said.
Another angry tenant from Marondera Mr Samuel Nyakudya of Nyameni suburb said his rentals had been increased by US$80.
"I told him (my landlord) that nothing has gone up and the increase is not justified. He claimed that whenever it's a new year, rentals should go up, whe-ther salaries have not been reviewed or not."
In September last year Government threatened to freeze residential rentals to protect tenants.
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Giles Mutsekwa warned landlords that his ministry would effect a blanket freeze on increases but no action has been taken.
Meanwhile, a visit to the Rent Board proved that the institution remains underutilised.
An officer at the RB said: "It's surprising that tenants are still ignorant of the functions of the Rent Board.
"They should understand that it's a tribunal with the mandate to deal with disputes and also acts as a special court.
"We can come to their aid if they feel the rental increases are not justified," said the officer.
He said disgruntled tenants have the right to approach the Rent Board with complaints ranging from illegal evictions to unwarranted rental increase.
Tenants are protected by the Rent Regulations, Statutory Instrument 32 of 2007 that was gazetted in terms of the Housing and Building Act.
There are over 500 000 people on the housing waiting list with only a few being able to buy or build houses in any given year.
Accommodation agents have also cashed in on accommodation seekers with most charging $20 for a client to access their list of properties.
posted by MrK @ 9:58 AM
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