JEDDAH: Residents across Jeddah are calling for the authorities to form an independent body to evaluate house rents across the city in order to prevent landlords from unjustifiably increasing rents.

According to recent statistics, 15 percent of the monthly salaries of Saudi nationals go toward paying rent and that over 60 percent of people do not own their own homes. Real estate experts also revealed that many young Saudis look to own or rent small homes.

Landlord Saeed Al-Harbi supports the formation of such a committee, which he said would protect people from greedy landlords. “Before I came to own my apartment building, I was renting a small apartment. I used to suffer a lot from greedy building owners who hike prices unnecessarily. The last thing they care about is your financial situation,” he said.

Yahya Al-Amri, a recently wed Saudi, said he was looking for an apartment for some time and that all of the apartments he saw were overpriced and beyond his budget. “I finally rented an apartment because I had no choice. It was either that apartment or I had to delay getting married. There should be an independent body evaluating rental prices. Most homes out for rent are overpriced,” he said.

Muhammad Al-Zahrani, a real estate investor, said there is a huge demand for small housing units for people with limited incomes. “We’ve already started building small housing units. The main reason for the increase in price is the increase in the price of building materials. Some landlords try to compensate for the money they have spent on building by increasing rents. The current rental prices are way beyond the budget of limited income people who form the majority,” he said.

Abdullah Al-Ahmari, chairman of the real estate evaluation committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed that rental prices are often increased on a whim. “There are no clear laws governing the relationship between landlords and tenants. Landlords can at anytime increase rents. As a result, many large families are forced to rent small housing units and apartments because they can’t afford big ones,” he said.

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