|
|
Zimbabwe: Rentals Sore As Landlords Demand Forex, Goods
 |
 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Herald (Harare)
3 July 2008
Posted to the web 3 July 2008
Harare
THE cost of rentals in most high-density suburbs has risen beyond the reach of low-income earners, who are earning between $80 billion and $150 billion.
A single room has gone up to 100 rand or the Zim dollar equivalent, an amount which is beyond the reach of many.
A bed seater, one bedroom and two bedroomed flats are now pegged at US$100, US$150 and US$250 or the Zim dollar equivalent respectively.
Speaking to the Herald Business yesterday, NIPC chairman Mr Godwills Masimirembwa said that charging of rentals in foreign currency should end with immediate effect.
"We are going to take stern measures against unscrupulous landlords who are charging exorbitant rentals at the expense of consumers," he said.
He added that there is need for a fair play in all sectors of the economy.
"Charging rentals in hard currency is illegal, we have to use our local currency
"Who ever is doing that should stop it or else face the consequences," said Mr Masimirembwa.
Mr Masimirembwa added that the law does not allow for charging of goods and services in hard currency.
In an interview with the Herald Business yesterday, property analyst Mr Matthias Kufandirimbwa said the increase in rentals is mainly caused by the ever-increasing demand for accommodation in urban areas especially in high-density suburbs.
Mr Kufandirimbwa added that there is an urgent need for increased investment in the construction sector to ease the current problem.
"There is high demand for accommodation, but the supply side is very low and can not meet the demand. Nothing new is coming to cater for the increasing demand," said Mr Kufandirimbwa.
A disgruntled Glen View 3 resident said that, they are now forced to pay 2 litres of cooking oil, 20 kilograms of maize meal and 2 kilograms of sugar as part of monthly rentals which are only found on the parallel market at exorbitant prices.
A 2 litre bottle of cooking oil, 20 kgs of maize-meal and 2 kgs of sugar are pegged at $200 billion, $160 billion and $50 billion respectively.
|
Most landlords are pegging their properties in foreign currency but might charge in local currency equivalent to Zim dollar, normally calculated using the parallel market rate.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
