House rent in city rises by 177pc in 10 years

House rent in the city rose by about 177.40 per cent in the last 10 years although there are rent control laws and courts to check it.

Rents of different categories of houses increased by an average of 18.24 per cent last year against 14.09 per cent in 1998, according to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).

The highest increase of 26.01 per cent was in slums, where the average rent of a room rose to Tk 907 from Tk. 715.05 in 1998, CAB said. It recently conducted a survey on rents of four types of houses - pucca, semi pucca, thatched houses, and shanties in slums.

The average rent of one pucca room rose to Tk. 2088 last year from Tk. 1785 in 1998, showing 16.97 per cent increase.

The rent of one semi-pacca room rose to Tk. 1502 from Tk. 1290. The rate of increase was 16.43 per cent.

The rent of thatched houses increased by about 17.94 per cent. The average rent was Tk. 1015 in 1998 which rose to Tk. 1197 last year, CAB said.

The average house rent in the city increased by 15.03 per cent in 1997, 17.86 in '96, 22.61 in '95, 16.44 in '94, 12.16 in '93, 13.43 in '92, 21.75 in '91 and 25.79 per cent in 1990, CAB said.

There are rent control courts in the city. But on an average, only about 25 cases are filed in the courts in a year, said a source in Dhaka Judge Court.

"We have to handle a lot of other cases everyday... Sometimes a house rent case takes four to five years to be disposed of. That is why, people are reluctant to go to court to settle disputes," he added.

He however said there is a lack of awareness about rent control laws among the people. Many people do not know that there are laws to control house rent, he added.