Khaled Al-Jarullah Al-Riyadh People are talking about land and housing crises that include rising costs of land and homes, land monopolies, problem in real estate funding, scarcity of housing projects, a declining demand for real estate in general and citizens not receiving their loans from real estate development funds that were approved. Despite all this, the rising cost of rent throughout the country is the main problem facing Saudi citizens these days. This problem began to emerge in 2006, after the crash of the stock market. Since the crash, cash was redirected to real estate, especially from those who managed to gain profit before the collapse. All tenants, Saudis and expatriates, are suffering from the rising cost of rent. This is not only limited to new homes but also includes very old properties. Owners of these buildings and their representatives surprise tenants by increasing rent prices during contract renewals by as much as 25 percent. Facing this unjustifiable increase that came without any warning, the tenant faces two options: either accept and pay or find a new home. There are exceptional cases of building owners who increased their rents because they paid large amount of money to renovate their apartment units or because they paid a lot of money on raw materials to construct their buildings. But the vast majority of rent increases are based on the mood of greedy owners who want to milk money out of their tenants. In light of the current crises and the rising cost of land and real estate in general, the real estate sector for the next five years will suffer from the rising costs of rent and tenants will continue to suffer. It is only when it becomes easier for Saudis to own homes that rent prices will begin to decline gradually. The problem in our real estate market is that there is a high demand for homes that is not being met by housing projects. A large percentage of those wanting homes are young. If they do not get new homes, then rent prices will continue to rise. There are countries that strictly regulate rent increases and cap the percentage that prices can be increased annually. Rent prices in these countries are not random. I wish officials in this country, and it could be the job of those at the Ministry of Housing, would look into this issue and try to control unjustifiable rent increases.
