JEDDAH, 2 April 2007 — In spite of a noticeable mushrooming of buildings across Jeddah, low-income Saudis and expatriates complain that the price of rent in the city continues to skyrocket forcing many families to make severe cutbacks on other expenses in order to meet housing costs.
Arab News spoke to several residents in the city to gauge the feelings of the public on the issue. Many people expressed annoyance at exaggerated rental prices and complained that landlords have a tendency to raise rents without prior notification and without any improvement in the services provided.
Due to exaggerated rents, many people end up looking for cheaper accommodation in old buildings that lack basic amenities.
Walid, 42, is a Saudi father of five. He earns SR2,500 a month and is fed up with rising rent prices.
“My landlord initially asked me to pay SR13,000 per year in three installments. Recently, he raised the rent to SR14,000 without providing me with any extra services. On top of that, all the tenants in my building have to jointly pay for water tanks if the water finishes,” said Walid, adding that the landlord recently dismissed the caretaker.
“The tenants have now hired a part-time worker, who lives close by, to come and clean the building. Now we have to be extra cautious for security, especially since there are a group of single men renting an outhouse connected to our building,” said Walid.
“I have thought of moving to another building, but the rents are high everywhere,” he said, adding that he finds it useless consulting welfare organizations that offer accommodation to low-income people. “They ask for a lot of papers and certificates that I do not have the time to fill,” he said.
Yasmin Abu Al-Saud, an Egyptian mother who is currently expecting her second child, lives in an apartment consisting of two rooms and an open dining room.
“If my husband’s job did not provide us with an housing allowance then the situation would be much worse. What the company provides us with isn’t enough for a good house,” she the woman, adding that there are other expenses like water, electricity and caretaker fees that they have to pay.
“All these expenses are not included in the contract but we find ourselves forced to pay them. We’ve fixed our budget in a way that allows us to pay the rent, by cutting down other expenses,” she said.
Abdul Rahman, an Indian worker, said he was exhausted with having to pay extremely high rents and so sent his family back home.
“My salary doesn’t exceed SR1,500. I couldn’t pay my rent and at the same time cover other household expenses and so I decided to send my family back to India. I moved in with some friends. Fortunately my employer provides me with air ticket to visit my family every two years,” he said.
Arab News contacted a number of real estate offices in the city. One agreed to speak but on condition of anonymity. “The rise in rental fees is in proportion with a rise in land prices in Jeddah. Landlords want to gain big profits and see a return of the money they have invested within a few years,” he said.
He added that many families demand certain types of homes and that certain locations are more popular than others. “However, they then complain about high prices. If a person wants a nice big home with complete utilities then the rental prices will be high,” he added.
