Welfare flats taken over by urban professionals
Welfare flats taken over by urban professionals
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Eleven years after his family's home in Bendungan Hilir, Central
Jakarta, burned down, Ali -- not his real name -- now lives on
the third floor of an apartment complex that was built on top of
the charred ruins by the city administration.
However, Ali and his family are among the few original tenants
left, as others have either sold or rented out their apartments.
A sign at the front of the building declares: "Low-cost Apartment
Complex built on land owned by Jakarta City Administration".
"I'd say about 99 percent are outsiders," said Ali, whose
family now owns five units, four of which they rent out.
The "outsiders" Ali refers to are young, mostly single, urban
professionals who have taken over six ten-story buildings,
commonly referred to as the Benhil 2 Apartments that were built
for the mostly poor families who lost homes in the fire eleven
years ago.
"Demand is high," said Ali. "An empty unit is usually rented
out in two or three days."
The 614, three-by-seven meter studio apartments at Benhil 2,
which is strategically located in the heart of the city, are
rented out for between Rp 400,000 (US$43) and Rp 650,000 per
month, exclusive of water and electricity. Most units are
equipped with air conditioners and a stove.
The apartment compound also offers roughly 225 parking spaces
for cars, which an online ad for a Benhil 2 studio proclaims
"have never been occupied by a car built before 1990".
Even though the parking space costs an extra Rp 40,000 per
month, at night cars constantly jostle for the best spots.
"Don't worry, for an extra Rp 2,000 per day a security guard
will guarantee a spot," Ali said assuringly.
The city originally sold ownership of the apartments,
completed in 1996, to eligible families at a 50 percent discount.
Eligible families paid between Rp 10 million and Rp 15 million
for their apartments, repayable in monthly installments over a
five to 20 year period.
Ali said that current prices for the units were anywhere
between Rp 60 million and Rp 80 million, on top of any remaining
mortgage payments.
Ali himself still owes about Rp 8.5 million on each of his
family's five studios.
Under current regulations, the rental of a subsidized unit to
unqualified parties before the mortgage has been paid off is
technically prohibited, as the city retains legal ownership of
the units.
City Housing Agency head Hari Sasongko recently said that some
70 percent of the city's 7,000 subsidized units were occupied by
people who did not qualify for them. He warned that city
officials would conduct raids at the suspected units and cut off
their subsidy.
Ali, however, questioned the legality of this.
"These units are ours," said Ali. "But if a tenant does get
evicted by the City, we'll refund any remaining rent."