Tenants reeling under rising rents
Sunday, 10 February 2008
With the real estate boom, housing and apartment owners in the Kingdom have increased rents from 10 per cent to 50 per cent. According to tenants, they are at the mercy of their landlords, as there is currently no government control over this matter.
“As far as I know, there’s no law prohibiting residential building owners from increasing rents,” says Turki Faisal Rasheed, CEO of contracting company Golden Grass Inc.
Mustapha Hashim, an Indian working in Riyadh as an editor for the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, has decided to move after his landlord increased his rent from SAR8,000 to SAR12,000, up 50 per cent.
Eric P. Asi, a Filipino electrical engineer with Nardeen Lighting who resides in the Saudi capital’s Malaz area, says that his landlord increased his rent last year from SAR15,000 to SAR18,000, about 20 per cent. He has already been told that by the end of 2008, he’ll be subject to another 20 per cent rent increase.
“This is really a problem for many of us since we have no source to pay the increase. Salaries have not been increased. Assuming that the government will declare an increase in salaries, the order normally covers only the public sector, but not those of us employed by private firms,” he says.
As a result, Asi has found it necessary to write a letter to his immediate superior to ask for a salary increment.
Shaikh Abdul Haq, a Pakistani network support engineer who resides in the Hai Moatamarat area, says he has just received a letter from his landlord stating that his rent will be increased by 25 per cent from SAR12,000 to SAR14,500.
“What to do? There’s no government body to lodge a complaint with since there’s no law that prevents landlords from increasing rents,” he says.
Alexander Guarin, a Filipino working for the Saudi Telecommunications Company and living with his family in the Suleimania area, says that his rent has likewise been increased from SAR16,000 last year to SAR18,000 this year. With five children, the increase deprives his family of many things that they enjoyed in the past, such as stocking up on food or eating out on weekends.
“Now, we have to tighten our belts. We make it a point to prepare food and eat at home, making do with whatever is available on the table at lunch or dinner time,” he says.
In Alkhobar, Ahmed Khan, a Pakistani living with his family along Prince Nawaf street, says that his rent has also been increased from SAR10,000 to SAR11,000. As a result, he and his family have had to forego some of the things they used to enjoy, like regular family picnics.
“Expatriates I know here have been complaining about the increase in rents. They are wondering why landlords increase rents when their buildings are not only old but are also not being maintained. It is the tenants who make repairs – from plumbing to electrical,” he says.
Even in Jeddah, tenants are concerned about rent increases seen during the past two years. For Francis Salud, who resides in the Nuzlah area, paying an additional SAR1,000 in rent, which has gone up from SAR10,000 to SAR11,000, is a problem, considering that he has children studying in a Philippine school.
But like the rest, Salud, who works for an advertising agency and is a volunteer correspondent for The Filipino Channel, is resigned to his situation. “There’s no law preventing the landlords from increasing rents. So what can I do?” he asks rhetorically.