Calling On Government to Intervene In Uncontrolled And Thoughtless Rise In Rent Within Agbor Metropolises
Like every well-meaning resident of Agbor town, the headquarters of Ika South Local Government Area of Delta state, the Ika Weekly Newspaper is alarmed at the uncontrolled increase in house rents by landlords.
Also devastating is the awareness that the increase is coming at a time when residents/tenants are already distressed by the current economic hardship bedeviling the country as a result of the current Federal Government’s inability to put the nation’s economy on the right pedestal.
Regardless of the defense that landlords are going up, it is by no standard a good commentary that Mini Flat in Agbor goes as high as N350, 000 and 500,000, and a three-bedroom flat on its part is priced at N500, 000 to N1,000,000 per annum.
Without doubt the times are hard. It is equally a statement of fact that most of the landlords built these apartments as investments and need to recoup their money.
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But then, the Newspaper believed and still believe that any investment that lacks human face urgently needs to be criticized and condemned. Irrespective of the investment approach, landlords must consider the low-income earners when fixing these exorbitant rents. They must not fail to remember that Agbor is a town dominated by low profiled business and low/medium level civil servants in the state.
Exorbitant house rents can only force these classes of people to either lose their rented apartments to live outside in the open, or go into corrupt practices in order to pay their rents.
None of these inhuman acts should be encouraged.
It is on this note that the Newspaper calls on landlords in the town to carry out a downward review of rents in the town in ways that will suit and accommodate other economic needs of the tenants. Landlords must also not fail to remember that Agbor is an educational community filled with students that equally rent these houses. They (landlords) must therefore, not discourage learning with their exorbitant rents.
Ika Weekly Newspapers also calls on the State and Local Government authorities to step in and control this nagging situation. Government must not at this point forget that provision of shelter is part of their constitutional responsibility. Therefore, whatever they need to do to bring about a new and affordable rent regime Agbor must be done and the best time to act is now.