A house hunter’s struggle - High prices, stringent rules a nightmare for homeseeker

Young. Single. No children. No pets. No visitors. Must be ardent Christian. These are some of the rules that have frustrated 36-year-old Kim*, who has been hunting for a one-bedroom house in the Corporate Area for the past few weeks.

Her budget is $35,000 per month. However, the last few weeks have taught her that the money is not only insufficient to afford her a comfortable unit, it is way too low to guarantee her a space where she would not have to tiptoe around the landlord if she wants to have a friend over for dinner.

“I mean, we’re adults looking for somewhere to live. We are social beings; you must expect us to have family over. Some persons saying you can’t have visitors, or pets, you can’t play music, or you must be ‘holier than thou’,” she fumed.

Kim, who once worked in the financial sector, is renting for the second time. She has spent the last few months overseas and has returned home with the hope of making a start fresh with a new job and a new place to live.

Last Sunday, as she has done on previous occasions, she purchased a copy of The Sunday Gleaner and went straight to the classifieds section to find a place to live. She made 74 calls between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., but had limited success as many of her calls went unanswered.

“This is what it’s like most of the days,” she exclaimed. “Nothing but voicemails!”

Hope shined through the despair when she made the 63rd call. A landlord in the Red Hills Road area had advertised for a two-bedroom property for $50,000 per month. She excitedly asked him for the opportunity to visit for a viewing, to which he agreed. However, less than 30 minutes later, he messaged her to say that the viewing was over. She asked when the next one would be, but got no reply.

The feeling of despair returned.

In between calls, Kim wondered why properties are being rented for as high as US$3,000 (approximately $464,000) per month.

But Newton Johnson, president of the Realtors Association of Jamaica, said the answer is simple. He said many developers and landlords have been targeting a higher-end market.

“There are a lot of expats who are within that income bracket who need somewhere to live. Kudos, of course, to the business savvy man or woman who cater to that need, but now the average Joe cannot find anything in their price range,” Johnson said.

He also said that rental prices have a correlation with the stringent rules and restrictions that have frustrated future tenants like Kim.

“What you find is that houses are renting for less, especially in and around the Corporate Area, the landlord lives on the property with the tenant. As such they want to limit what you can and can’t do, so as not to disturb themselves.”

His assertion appears to be well founded. Two landlords who have put in place stringent rules have explained their reasons.

“The reality of it is that some persons cannot control their children. I don’t want my house, where two other tenants already live, to feel uncomfortable with children running around and screaming all hours of night,” said a landlord who imposed a ‘no kids’ stipulation in his real estate listing.

Similarly, a landlord whose ad stipulated that only “single, working female” will be considered said he has a good reason for that criteria.

“I have had people who come in — man and woman — and leave the place a mess. They play loud music and wake up the whole community. People nuh have no decency, man. So sometimes you have to be tight with it,” the landlord said.

But Kim, though desperate, said she is not prepared to subject herself to the unreasonable dictates of landlords. She is convinced that it will be near impossible to find a comfortable unit at her price point and is now weighing her limited options. She is seriously considering finding a roommate with whom she can rent a property and split the costs. She currently has an eye on a property which she viewed in the Kingston 2 area last Sunday. The unit has three bedrooms and two and a-half bathrooms. It is being rented for $75,000 per month.

“It’s really nice and spacious,” she said of the unit. “At the end of the day, what choice do I have? It is a really nice place and I need somewhere ASAP. I just have to accept what I can get and make the best of it,” she said.

* Name changed to protect identity.