Low-cost apartment dwellers refuse to pay rent
Low-cost apartment dwellers refuse to pay rent
JAKARTA (JP): Most tenants of low-cost apartments built by the
City Housing Agency during former president Soeharto's era,
refuse to pay their rental fees, the agency head said on Friday.
Head of the agency Irzal Z. Djamal said that in the past, the
authorities asked people to move in swiftly to their apartments a
day before they were inaugurated, even though tenants had yet to
sign their rent contracts.
The tenants were mostly local residents already living in
close proximity to the newly built apartments. They include
victims whose houses were destroyed by fire.
"We now find it difficult to evict them since we have no legal
contracts with the tenants. We can't take them to court because
we would lose," Irzal told reporters.
He gave examples of the Bidaracina apartments in East Jakarta,
inaugurated by Soeharto, and the Tambora apartments inaugurated
by former vice president Try Sutrisno, both in the early 1990s.
He said that the residents thought that they were granted the
apartments.
Things become more complicated as many of them rent the
apartments to other parties.
To overcome the problems, Irzal said his agency is drafting a
bylaw that will give the authorities a legal basis to make
tenants pay rental fees.
Besides the Bidaracina and Tambora apartments, the city also
owns five other apartment buildings, in Tebet, South Jakarta, in
Bendungan Hilir, in Jati Bunder, in Karet Tengsin, and in Tanah
Tinggi, all in Central Jakarta.
The monthly rental fees of a low-cost apartment ranges from Rp
100,000 (US$10) to Rp 125,000. A unit measures between 18 square
meters and 21 square meters.
Irzal said his agency plans to build another low-cost
apartment block in Kampung Legok, Cawang, East Jakarta by the end
of this year.
His agency has provided Rp 5 billion for the appropriation of
5.6 hectares of land, which is still occupied by 160 families.
"These families will be prioritized when renting out
apartments. So far we have yet to receive any objection from
residents," he claimed.
He said the agency would build a six block apartment building
with 100 units in each six-story block.
The construction of each block would cost Rp 8 billion.
"We hope that it can be financed by the city budget," he said.
An apartment would be rented for Rp 125,000 a month.
He said the agency would not build a car parking lot or
facilities for car access to the apartment, to avoid handing over
the apartments to "rich people".
Many low-cost apartments have been sold by owners to middle-
income people since the buildings often have a car parking lot
and are located in strategic areas. (jun)