Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The housing shortage in Jeddah is alarming and perhaps growing larger in a city whose population increases by approximately 160,000 people every year. There are not enough homes for people and the rents have been increasing. The victims are mainly newly-wed couples who end up paying a large chunk of their income in rents. Many companies give their expatriates housing allowances to deal with rents. Saudis are placing much faith on authorities, especially the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the mayoralty and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to set criteria, specifications and conditions that landlords should follow when renting their property. Okaz/Saudi Gazette visited several neighborhoods in the city and asked about rents of villas and apartments. The average rent of a three-bedroom apartment in south Jeddah is SR20,000 while in the north at places like Al-Morjan and Al-Basateen neighborhoods a similar apartment can cost up to SR40,000. At Al-Andalus and Al-Hamra neighborhoods, the rent is SR42,000. Mowafaq Abdullah kept searching for an affordable apartment for an entire month to no avail. The rent of the apartment he has been living in for the last few years was less than SR10,000 but today it has reached over SR30,000. “There was a time when the newly-wed couples could afford to live at neighborhoods like Al-Safa and Al-Rehab. But this doesn't hold true anymore. Even rents at these neighborhoods have increased,” Abdullah said. He believes that the newly-married have no option but to seek places with low rents even if that meant they have to live in a tiny place in a neighborhood that lacked basic amenities. Hashim Jaman agreed saying larger apartments have become a distant dream for many newly-weds. “The pay is low and hardly helps you get by. How could one dream of having his own home when he is trapped in such a crippling economic condition?” In his opinion, the housing problem is going to get worse over the next few years unless authorities take the initiative and set laws that prevent property owners from jacking up rents whenever they like. The best option now is to search for a two-bedroom apartment with an affordable rent and forget about having overnight out-of-town guests because that would be difficult in a small place. Nedal Atta, a lawyer, is surprised that the authorities, especially the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, have not taken any steps to put an end to the greed of property owners who have over the past few years increased rent prices and in some cases doubled them. “Current rent prices are way too high and the citizen pays the prices for their greed,” said Atta. He cited the regulations introduced by Dubai earlier which set the rent prices in the city. He said such regulations are fair to the landlord and the tenant, noting that most advanced countries have such regulations and set rent prices based on location and other pertinent criteria. Sulaiman Al-Omran, a real estate expert, said the owners of old buildings increase rents in an unreasonable way although they paid less for the land where their buildings are located. Those owners make double what they made 10 years ago when they rented their houses for half the amount they demand now. All this is due to the shortage of housing. Khamis Al-Zahrani, owner of a real estate office, attributed the increase in rent prices to the lack of property appraisal mechanisms. The absence of such tools has undoubtedly amplified the housing problem in the Kingdom. He criticized the mayoralty and JCCI's real estate committee for their inaction and failure to introduce appraisal mechanisms to determine the appropriate rent of any property. Ali Al-Ghamdi, JCCI's real estate committee's member, said rents increased because land prices increased, while the housing shortage problem has remained unchanged.
