RENTAL
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR RENTAL RESIDENTIAL MARKETS IN AFRICA It is worth noting that most of the measures adopted in the few countries mentioned have not been approached as a one-way street . They incorporate elements of protection for the interests and rights of different stakeholders . On the one hand , the social aspect justified by the need for an orderly society and policing has enabled decision-makers to ensure that the right to housing and access to housing is respected and ensured during this difficult period . On the other hand , the precarious economic aspect justified by the decline in economic productivity in some industries , and the decline in wages and / or working hours , was also considered . This has allowed the establishment of temporary moratoriums which , in the first place , “ excuse ” delays and unpaid rents and , second , provide economic ‘ softeners ’ to ensure landlords do not to suffer unjustly during the pandemic .
The authorities in many major African cities , such as Abidjan , Dakar , Luanda and Kinshasa , can draw on some of these measures to reassure their stakeholders . In the African context , three aspects appear to be important for effective intervention by public authorities to protect rental markets .
First , to take measures to protect tenants from evictions related to non-payment of rent due to the Covid-19 pandemic . This protection could cover rents due from the ‘ first ’ of the current month or following the declaration of any state of health emergency in each country . It should not be general and indeterminate , but temporary and strictly limited to individuals whose :
• Jobs and incomes have been affected by any declaration of a state of emergency .
• Professional performances have been impaired due to a positive screening for Covid-19 .
• By unforeseen expenses relating to food survival , household expenditures , health and the education of children following the declaration of the state of health emergency
• Other acceptable and context-based measures for each African country under the state of health emergency .
Second , prohibiting increases in rental charges and applying interest in the case of unpaid rents . It is vital and crucial that governments ensure that the disaster caused by this pandemic does not create an environment of ‘ undue ’ enrichment to the detriment of poor and vulnerable populations . The regulation of the lessor-lessee relationship at the economic level will aim to adequately preserve the economic interests of these stakeholders . On the one hand , this will guarantee the existence of the rental debt and its subsequent payment without putting the tenant in a position of over-indebtedness born of an event independent of his will . On the other hand , it will reassure the owner about the recovery of his debt eventually .
Finally , the immediate protection of the economic conditions of the owners . This is extremely important to ensure social balance and minimise extra Covid-19 hazards . As noted , rent represents a fixed income for some homeowners and an important economic base in planning household consumption , liquidity , and mortgage financing or any
FREEPIK refinancing plan over a given period . Large African cities , with their large percentage of tenants , imply that a large mass of household-homeowners or individual-homeowners could be negatively affected if the temporary moratoriums did not address the preservation of their economic interests . Government intervention , through partial or full subsidies , or credit mechanisms , with immediate effect , could be used to support those landlords who find themselves in a precarious situation in the event of unpaid rents .
“ A rental residential market is composed of all real estate properties intended for simple or social rental in a given space .”
Admittedly , in countries with struggling economies , the limitations of the fiscus will not allow for government programmes to subsidise rental payments by tenants . The assumption of a line of credit from public funds or funds from a public-private partnership seems more appropriate as it would allow the State to recover its debt from the landlord-borrower once the state of health emergency has been lifted and the unpaid rentals recovered from the tenant .
Finally , given the greater constraints of smaller African economies , a fair and rational allocation of funds and resources will play a more critical role in the response of African States to the challenges of this pandemic in the rental residential markets in Africa .
The Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa ( CAHF ) has been operating as an independent think tank in South Africa since May 2014 , pursuing its mission of making Africa ’ s housing finance markets work . CAHF ’ s work extends across the continent , with the aim of bringing information to the marketplace to enable stakeholders in the public and private sector to make policy and investment decisions in favour of improved access to affordable housing .
www . saaffordablehousing . co . za NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2020 25