Renters of capital Dhaka are in grave worry whether they would get their March rent followed by April and May as over 60 percent of tenant left the city to their village home for Cororna pandemic.
As job losses climb into the millions due to the corona virus, laid-off workers increasingly can’t make the rent.
Incidents of frequent squabble between renters and tenant are reported who are struggling with locked down situation at the Capital.
A rumors press-note in the name of Prime Minister is also responsible which listed 30 fake directives among which one written that the tenants need not pay their rent for the month of March.
Albeit ability many staying tenants are awaiting for such any government announcement if they give waiver their total rents.
A good numbers of tenants are really facing money crisis because most of private sector office did not give salary yet.
Meanwhile, some good heart people also set example of humanity and waive entire rent for Corona situation.
“Premises Rent Control Act, 1991” – how many tenants and landlords even maintain it or are actually aware of it? Maybe a lot of tenants know about there being a law to do with their rights, but finding landlords that enforce it is a rare case. As a result, stories of “regretful” tenancy experiences are quite common in Banglades, Ahmed Shamsuddin Parvez, a tenat at Poribagh told Business Mirror.
“What I believe we will see is in addition to the tenants that truly cannot pay during this time, there will be a number of tenants who lost job and has no earning,” Sayeed Khokon Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation told Business Mirror .
Those who are getting stuck at the city of which most are not capable to pay as well next months, Khokon added.
Bangladesh Match Shongo President Akhtaruzzaman Alias Ayatullah said, renters needed more reassurances they would not lose out and called on authorities to do more.
There are about 10 lakh DNCC and DSCC holdings where more that 70 lakh people are residing, according to a second hand statistics compiled by Avail a NGO. Avail conducted a survey in March last year.
Sayeed Khokon said On Wednesday that “We are planning to, bring forward legislation to protect private renters from eviction but the details were still to be finalised.”
A group in the city has called for three-month “rent holidays”, similar to those promised by Dhaka Renters Association on Tuesday.
Afrin Nahar Lucy, of Mirpur Tenants’, said renters needed more reassurances they would not lose out and called on authorities to do more.
She said: “We are already hearing from a lot of people whose income has collapsed.
She praised “wonderfully socially-minded landlords” who had already assured their tenants they would not evict them if they lost their jobs or could not find work during the crisis.
But she said she remained worried others demanding payment could push tenants into “potentially lethal decisions”.
“They’re not going to isolate if they need to earn money,” she said.
