The decrease in the exchange rate, lack of government support, and absence of laws to protect tenants have caused a sharp increase in housing rent rates in Iran. Parvin, a sixty-year-old woman who has two daughters in college and currently lives in a marginalized neighborhood, says: “We haven’t been tenants for four years now and have built a house in a marginalized neighborhood, but we don’t have water, electricity, or gas. In the winter, our house entrance gets blocked with snow, but we are still satisfied because my husband is a daily wage worker and we couldn’t afford to buy a house in a better area. We were forced to choose marginalization,” she adds: “When we were tenants, the landlord would warn us not to have guests and was even sensitive to the sound of our news and would control our comings and goings. Every year, he would increase the rent and we were forced to build this house. Once, I went to the relief committee and wrote

Urbanization and problems of renting.

In recent centuries, people have had a greater tendency towards urbanization and this is a global phenomenon. If this trend continues, the United Nations has predicted that by 2030, approximately 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. With the increase in urbanization, the rising cost of rent, along with income disparities, inflation, and rising housing prices, which also affect rent, creates numerous problems in society. Especially for young people who have neither savings nor a job with a suitable income, and do not benefit from any government facilities, it is difficult for them to pay rent and even renting will be almost impossible for them.

Factors influencing rent rates and amounts.

People who are renters find their table getting tighter every day, and with the increase in exchange rates, landlords also raise the rent every year. The majority of income for working-class families is spent on housing expenses, and according to statistics from official reports and considering the minimum wage set by the Supreme Labor Council, this expense increases every year compared to the previous year. This trend reduces the share of daily expenses for families and worsens the quality of life for workers and their families. Housing prices, exchange rates, bank profits, and supply and demand are the four determining factors for rental rates. In Iran, as housing prices increase, rental rates also increase, and with a decrease in bank profits, rental rates also increase, and with an increase in exchange rates, prices in the market also go up. As there is less supply than demand in the housing market, this leads to an increase in prices. Due to the sudden increase in prices, people’s purchasing power has decreased. Those who were already homeowners

The impact of Corona on the increase in housing rental rates.

Experts have predicted that due to the consequences of the spread of coronavirus, inflation in Iran will continue to rise and rent prices in different cities of Iran will increase. This increase puts additional pressure on renting families in major cities of Iran. Despite economic difficulties, rental prices have increased due to the spread of coronavirus and real estate consultants continue to raise rates. Iran ranks seventh among 106 countries in terms of household access to housing or the ratio of housing prices to income, and Tehran ranks fifth among 458 cities in the world (Fars News; August 5, 2020).

The problem of gentrification due to rising rent prices.

In the real estate market, due to a decrease in transactions, the price growth is stopped for a while. However, in the rental housing market, there is no change and prices continue to increase. The increase in rental rates has led to a change in people’s lifestyles and over time, people’s homes have become smaller. Additionally, due to the increase in rental rates, more workers in large cities who cannot afford to pay rent are living in shared homes or sleeping on rooftops for a lower cost. Due to the high cost of housing and the increase in rental rates, the problem of living on the margins and living in makeshift homes in large cities has increased.

Final words

The government should provide better conditions for tenants by considering supportive policies for housing supply, and builders should inject the constructed housing into the rental market to create a fairer situation for renters. Unfortunately, none of the government’s policies regarding housing rental and support for renters have been as effective as expected. The distribution of housing and regulation of rent rates have not been properly carried out in order to benefit the lower classes of society, and this issue has led to the emergence of a housing crisis. Many different solutions proposed by government officials have been temporary and biased towards supporting a certain class, serving the interests of housing owners, and have never helped to reduce the housing crisis or decrease rental rates. These policies have only increased class divisions and social injustices. Programs such as the Mehr housing project, which still have many supporters, have not been effective as they have many problems and operate within the framework of market dominance, ultimately leading to new inequalities.