Apartment rent fee hike rejected

JAKARTA: Dozens of people living in city owned, mid- and low- cost apartments in Pluit, North Jakarta visited the City Council Wednesday to protest rent fee and service charge increases of 70 percent.

Monthly rent, ranging from Rp 270,000 and Rp 492,000, was increased to between Rp 470,000 and Rp 848,500 per month, from January.

Last week, security officers of PT Jakarta Propertindo, the city-owned company which manages the apartments, clashed with residents as the officers, backed by elements of the Army and police, turned off electricity to several units owned by protest leaders.

There are some 480 families or about 3,000 people living in the apartments.

They expressed hope the legislators would ask PT Jakarta Propertindo to revise the decision. --JP