A common sight in our cities these days is trucks loaded with furniture moving from one neighborhood to another. People are choosing to move instead of paying the higher rent imposed by their landlords. If you look at the furniture being loaded onto the truck, you can guess whether the people have moved once, twice or three times over the past few years. You will most often see broken chairs, wobbly-looking tables, old TV sets and suitcases stuffed to near-bursting.
These people are not moving for the joy of moving or because they enjoy the hassle and bother. They are the victims of greedy landlords who insist on increasing the rent with no consideration for anything but their own pockets.
They forget that those who rent usually have no more than their monthly salaries and most likely do not get a salary increase every time a landlord decides to increase the rent.
The increase may be anywhere from SR1,000 to SR3,000 depending on the size of the accommodation and the neighborhood. Some landlords increase the rent only a year after tenants move into his building.
There is of course always a choice: pay or leave. Some indignantly agree to pay to spare themselves the trouble of having to find new housing. Those who decide to move may have the expense of paying an agent, a moving company and also for furniture damaged during the move.
This is a situation that calls for some kind of official intervention. It would be better if a certain period were fixed for the tenant during which the landlord could not increase the rent. In any case, some consideration should be given to protecting the rights of tenants. They should not be left completely at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords.
