Analysis and insight of rental housing accommodation challenges in Dhaka city

The citys poor live in rudimentary housing, and only one-in-twenty live in permanent housing. Rents are high, living space is crowded, and the provision of amenities, while difficult to measure with any precision, is almost certainly low given the temporary nature of most housing. Conditions that are already bad appear to be getting worse as rents continue to rise and migration to the city continues. Dhakas rapid growth, large size, topography, environmental conditions, and problems of governance exacerbate already complex land and housing issues for the poor. The number of slum dwellers is projected to grow to 8 million over the next decade. With this growth, policy makers will need to address land and housing as a top priority. A major constraint in the analysis is the scarcity of recent data on land ownership, rents, prices, and the supply of various basic amenities. This lack of information is due largely to the informal nature of urban developments in Dhaka. It is also consistent with the almost complete absence of government in the operation of housing and land markets in the city, even in enforcing basic property rights. Given the paucity of recent data the paper has relied on empirical reference points that are somewhat dated, complemented with assessments and observations by Bangladeshi experts and market participants. Updating the information base would be very useful in deepening the analysis of these issues. Background A Fast Growing, Poor Megacity Dhaka is known as one of the fastest growing cities of the world. Its growth has been particularly rapid since 1972, after its transformation from a provincial capital to the national capital of the newly independent country, Bangladesh (Islam, Dhaka Now: Contemporary Urban Development, 2005) (Islam, The Poors Access to Land and Housing in Dhaka, 2004). The average annual growth rate of the citys population was 6 percent during the 1974-2001 periods. Rural to urban migration remained the most dominant factor of the population growth, but natural increase was also high (Hoek-Smit, 1998). Dhaka (or Greater Dhaka) emerged definitively as a mega-city in the new millennium. It is currently the 11th most populous city in the world with over 12 million people and is projected to move up to the 6th position with 18.4 million people in 2010, with only Tokyo, Mumbai, Lagos, Sao Paolo and Mexico City being larger (BBS, Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh, 2001) (BBS, Bangladesh Population Census 2001: Analytical Report, 2001). The projected population size for 2010 and 2016 respectively, has been estimated at 9 million and 10 million for the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area, and 14.88 million and 18.00 million for the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) area (Rahman, 2001). High Land Prices Have Excluded the Poor from Ownership of Land and Housing Housing Prices: Residential land values in prime locations of Dhaka range between BDT 2,500 and BDT 4,800 per square foot, similar to prices reported in other regional cities such as Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur or New Delhi (OHare, 1998) (Jorgensen, 1977). Nevertheless, land prices are high compared to

those found in developed countries (Nations, 2004). For example, areas in the US where land prices exceed $60 per square foot are rare. Housing Rent Levels: In private slums and mess units the poor pay regular rent to a landlord or home owner. In the case of squatter settlements, occupants generally have to pay tolls to mastaans (musclemen) and agents of employees of the land owning authorities (OHare, 1998). Rents in the private slums are reported to be high. Hafiz found that slums dwellers in Dhaka City were paying higher rent per square meter than non-slum households, even though the latter usually benefited from a much better physical environment and level of services (Hafiz, 2004). Typical rents today would be around Tk. 500 for a single person, Tk. 1000 or Tk. 1,500 for a family. Many poor households pay up to Tk. 1500 (US $ 26) for a small (less than 10 square meters) two-room unit in slums with water, electricity, latrine and gas. This spending accounts for approximately 14 percent of the poors household budget (Pugh, 1989). This figure is considerably higher than that observed in large Indian cities where the average urban household spends 7 percent of their income on housing, even in high cost locations such as the state of Maharasthra where Mumbai is located. As a consequence of tight budget constraints and relatively high rents, the poor in Dhaka usually live in very small accommodations (2 or 3 square meters per person similar to the situation in Mumbai) (OHare, 1998) (Pugh, 1989). An enabling housing policy without enablers In 1993, the Government of Bangladesh approved a National Housing Policy which was updated in 1999 and once again in 2004. The Policy describes the role of the government in the housing sector as that of a facilitator or enabler rather than as a provider. This means its role is to increase access to land, infrastructure services and credit; to ensure availability of building materials at a reasonable price especially for the low and middle income groups; and to create and promote housing finance institutions. Actual construction of housing is to be left to private sector developers, private individuals, and NGOs (BBS, Bangladesh Population Census 2001: Analytical Report, 2001) (Habitat, 2003) (ADB, 1996). The policy calls for special consideration for improvement of low income settlements and slums and squatters. It has clear recommendations in support of ensuring proper rehabilitation in cases of slum eviction. The policy also makes statements on strategies for improving land supply, infrastructure, building materials on technology, housing finance institutions, legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements (ADB, 1996). Finally, it also recommends the formation of a National Housing Council and a National Housing Authority (NHA) in order to implement the policy objectives and programs of the government. The latter has been formed but not the Council. The stated policy approach appears to be sound and is consistent with the recommendations made in the World Banks Housing Policy Paper: Enabling Markets to Work (1993). Nevertheless, important aspects of it are not implemented (ADB, 1996). In Dhaka, the division between the interventions of all these actors appears to be based largely on a geographical basis, determined by the holdings of land acquired by them at different points in time (ADB, 1996). Precise data on the extent and composition of public housing programs are lacking though public housing programs serve only a very small fraction (less than 10 percent) of new housing demand. Few if any of the public housing programs are targeted to the poor. RAJUK has been known to provide serviced lots of a minimal size (100 square meters -1.5 khatas), which given land prices in the city makes

them totally unaffordable for poor households. The Land Ministry is currently working on a project for the poor and landless, consisting of 15,000 small flats in high-rise buildings (Ahmed K. I., 2007). Considering the costs of finished flat units, there is little chance that the officially-targeted households will be able to pay for them. Thus, units built through public programs are likely to be bought by (lower) middle income households, unless very generous subsidies amounting to several times the annual income of beneficiaries are delivered to a small share of the population that can be served. Such programs operate more like lottery schemes than housing assistance (Devas, 1993). Analysis of Rented Housing Solutions With the beginning of the new year, house owners in the capital city have increased their house rents making it nearly impossible for the tenants to manage their daily expenses. The tenants, in many instances, are seen complaining against the excessive house rents being charged by their house owners. On the other hand, the house owners give different explanations for the increase in the rents, such as, increasing expenses on utilities, price hike on the essential commodities and also beginning of another year in many instances (Islam, The Poors Access to Land and Housing in Dhaka, 2004). About one crore and 20 lakh people are now living in the capital city. Around 70 per cent have come from different parts of the country in search of livelihood. These migrants dont have a choice than taking a house on rent and due to the excessive house rent; most of them have to go through difficulties in managing their daily expenditure. Even though the DCC had fixed house rents on the basis of localities, an open violation of the authoritys instruction is seen around the city. The owners have been constantly and persistently ignoring the fixed rates (South, 2011). As per the rates fixed by the DCC, house rent in the Gulshan Avenue area is Tk15-18 per square feet, it is Tk14-16 in Banani, Tk11-11.50 in Mohakhali, Tk6.50-7 in Nakhalpara, Tk6 in Kalyanpur and Pallabi, Tk5-9 in Uttara, Tk5-6 in Shantibagh, Tk9 in Naya Paltan, Tk8.50-9 in Shantinagar, Tk8 in Jigatola and Tk8 in West Dhanmondi (South, 2011). The House Rent Control Act should be adopted on an immediate basis so that the house owners would not charge excessive and unreasonable rents from their tenants. Measures should be taken to bring the house owners under the act. The Law minister will have to come forward in this regard, also an interference of the judiciary is a must to protect the tenants rights. We have become hostage in the hands of house owners. Authorities are there but we do not find a single person who resists the house owners from charging excessive house rents, protested Iqbal, a resident of East Rajabazar who has been facing the same problem (Iqbal, 2012). Residents of the Farmgate area also complained that an anarchic situation is prevailing in and around the capital city as house owners have imposed unreasonable rents on the tenants defying the DCC rules (Television, 2011). Some of the city areas they identified as not implementing the DCC rules includes Mirpur, Pallabi, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Farmgate, Malibagh, Maghbazar, Shahjahanpur, Rampura and Badda. They claim that the house owners in all these areas have increased the house rents without any reason (Ekushey, 2011). Sources from the DCC revenue sector have revealed that the DCC had been split into ten revenue zones on 16 July 2010. The high officials of the revenue zones are yet to launch any drive even after the affected tenants have been complaining against the house owners who are charging excessive house rents unfairly (Ekushey, 2011).

Morshed, a resident of Mohammadpur area, said that 50 per cent of his salary goes for the house rent. It becomes too difficult for me to manage the other expenses with the rest of the salary, he added (Morshed, 2012). A group of garment workers at Farmgate area said that it has become impossible for them to stay in the city as house owners have increased the house rent at the beginning of the year. The landlords have increased the rents but our wages have remained static over the years, one of them lamented (Unknown, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, little has been achieved in terms of the implementation of the National Housing Policy. Property rights have not been assured. Public interventions have been fragmented, have not targeted the poor, are based on unworkable design standards, and are not coordinated. The current policy environment is not one in which additional public resources will necessarily benefit the poor (Ahmed N. &., 2004). Improving the housing conditions of the urban poor will require substantial policy reforms.

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