RENTAL BLUES Rental crisis looms for Batswana
Calls for rental price regulation in Botswana ‘Security’ creates clashes between landlords and tenants
The unregulated private rental market makes the property sector susceptible to both boom and crisis, and with inflation, tax increase and stagnant salaries, crisis might be looming. Not only is there a dire shortage of affordable quality accommodation in most urban areas, but unscrupulous property owners and agents are randomly setting prices in response to high rental demand. In areas such as Gaborone, Tlokweng and Mogoditshane, landlords have earned notoriety for being intrusive and controlling bullies. Some have even been accused of coming up with endless rules, practising juju on tenants and hiking rental prices at will.
A recent social media thread indicated that some landlords are a nightmare to their tenants, which leads to fallouts. Thabiso Diloro said he had always disputed the claims of black magic and controlling landlords who bully tenants until he experienced it first-hand.
“One day I arrived home from work to be told out of the blue that rent would be increased effective the end of the month. Di landlord tsa Gaborone tse dingwe di rata go tsenya mathata a bone mo renteng – fa motho a na le mathata o bitsa madi hela (Landlords set rental prices based on the amount they want not the market trends).” He said in most cases, landlords take tenants for granted because they know that there is a high demand for rental property. “When you rent out, some landlords treat you as if you are desperate or stupid. But this is a two-way street and should benefit both the landlord and tenant. As much as tenants should respect landlords by taking care of the property, paying rent on time and meeting other arrangements agreed to, landlords should also accord tenants freedom and fairness when dealing with them”, said the concerned tenant. But perhaps most contentious is the security fee demanded when a tenant rents out a property. Gaborone resident Keneilwe Mothoipi said security fee is a scam that needs to be thoroughly investigated because most landlords don’t return it. “I have rented in two places in Gaborone, and on both occasions I was given a hard time when it was time for me to get my deposit back. I know many people who have been in the same situation. Some landlords are happy to take our money but start playing monkey games when its time to give it back”.
Real Estate Agent Monica Ketshabile clarified that security amount is refundable when a tenant terminates a rental contract and moves out. She explained that a security deposit is required for instances where there are fixings and refurbishments that need to be made to the property. She however pointed out that even then, a quotation cost of all the expenses is drawn out and the tenant is given the difference of the amount. “Security is not for the landlord, agency or agent to keep –it should be refundable”. Ketshabile said it was imperative for government to consider establishing a Rental Board and improve and re-enact the idle Rent Control Act. The fact that there is no regulation body on rental markets and that Botswana has no firm set guidelines on rental markets to guide agreements makes it a contentious issue, President of Real Estate Institute of Botswana Isaac Molefinyane, who is also director of Matchmakers Properties, told this publication. Molefinyane also advised that Batswana should inculcate a culture of engaging accredited estate agents. “When you engage an accredited expert, you might pay a small extra fee that goes towards their commission, but at least you have less stress as everything is done according to the book”, he said. Molefinyane said there are many fly-bynight agents who are messing up the property rental market by setting their own terms and regulations, which leads to inflation of prices.
Low income rental market has led to shortage of adequate housing in most urban and semi-urban areas. A 2018 report by Statistics
Botswana indicates that more than 50 percent of Batswana, most of who earn less than P4000 live in one-room dwellings. It says that of those in the income bracket of between P8000 and P16000 who are allocated land, some end up selling it as they cannot afford it, or find themselves paying insanely high interests on property purchases. Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) has notably struggled to meet the housing needs of residents in recent years due to urban expansion and migration. BHC had previously been a buffer between desperate home-seekers and unscrupulous and unregulated property owners and agents who violate the free market. But the recent hike in rental prices by BHC has not made things any easier as private market rental players are also increasing prices, despite the fact that salaries have been stagnant for many years.