Rocketing rents: No affordable housing for single folk
Shortages, rising demand for rental housing forcing many to go for substandard options.
The problem is most severe for bachelors, students and the working class. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The rapidly-rising demand for rented housing in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has created a steep shortage of accommodation options.
Due to the dearth of residential accommodation, rent demands are often disproportionate to the size or quality of the few available options.
The problem is most severe for bachelors, students and the working class.
Lamenting the issue, Aasia, a housewife, urged the government to launch low-cost residential projects to address the problem. Citing the magnitude of this issue, she said her family had lived in 15 different rented houses during the past 20 years.
“Subsidised colonies with one-bedroom housing units should be built by the government to accommodate the needy,” she suggested.
Elite, centrally-located areas such as sectors F-7 and F-6 are practically unaffordable for the lower and middle-income classes. Mohsin Ali, a student living in Sector F-6, said his landlord made good use of this, regularly increasing rent on a whim.
“I have no other option but to live in a single room,” he added, echoing the dilemma of a multitude of bachelors and students.
Bashir Ahmed, a property dealer, informed that monthly house rents in upscale sectors range between Rs56,000 and Rs80,000, while in the other sectors the rents range from Rs25,000 to Rs50,000.
He added that most people prefer to live in flats for security reasons. Subsequently, the owners of residential plazas have increased rents for flats.
“Even bachelor hostel operators are busy minting money, without providing proper facilities to their tenants,” added Ahmed.
Under these circumstances, the only feasible and affordable housing option for students is on-campus housing. A student, Amir Saleem, said, “We had been lodging at the university hostel, paying Rs6,000 per month for the service. After completing our studies, though, we will be unable to find affordable accommodation in cities”.
Due to inflation, rents
have been skyrocketing for the last three-to-four years, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2014.
The rapidly-rising demand for rented housing in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has created a steep shortage of accommodation options.
Due to the dearth of residential accommodation, rent demands are often disproportionate to the size or quality of the few available options.
The problem is most severe for bachelors, students and the working class.
Lamenting the issue, Aasia, a housewife, urged the government to launch low-cost residential projects to address the problem. Citing the magnitude of this issue, she said her family had lived in 15 different rented houses during the past 20 years.
“Subsidised colonies with one-bedroom housing units should be built by the government to accommodate the needy,” she suggested.
Elite, centrally-located areas such as sectors F-7 and F-6 are practically unaffordable for the lower and middle-income classes. Mohsin Ali, a student living in Sector F-6, said his landlord made good use of this, regularly increasing rent on a whim.
“I have no other option but to live in a single room,” he added, echoing the dilemma of a multitude of bachelors and students.
Bashir Ahmed, a property dealer, informed that monthly house rents in upscale sectors range between Rs56,000 and Rs80,000, while in the other sectors the rents range from Rs25,000 to Rs50,000.
He added that most people prefer to live in flats for security reasons. Subsequently, the owners of residential plazas have increased rents for flats.
“Even bachelor hostel operators are busy minting money, without providing proper facilities to their tenants,” added Ahmed.
Under these circumstances, the only feasible and affordable housing option for students is on-campus housing. A student, Amir Saleem, said, “We had been lodging at the university hostel, paying Rs6,000 per month for the service. After completing our studies, though, we will be unable to find affordable accommodation in cities”.
Due to inflation, rents
have been skyrocketing for the last three-to-four years, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2014.