Displaced: the surge in rents in Lebanon continues

After having already had to flee their home in Naqoura to take refuge in Tire six months ago, Hady* and his family were once again forced, this week, to join the million of their compatriots thrown onto the roads by the intensification of the Israeli bombings.

“We wanted to rent a place in Saida, but the rents were between $1,000 and $2,000 a month, even $3,000 in some cases, not including the cost of living. I can’t afford it,” explains this civil servant whose monthly salary is around 22 million Lebanese pounds ($250). “Fortunately we were able to stay with relatives again, this time in Aley (Chouf),” he says.

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But not everyone is so lucky. And if the exponential increase in the number of displaced people over the last two weeks has generally brought in its wake a vast movement of solidarity among the population, serving as often as a palliative for the absence of a State, it also continues to fuel the phenomenon of surge in rental prices in certain host villages already observed for several months. “It’s total chaos, both in terms of prices and the practices of certain owners,” summarizes Walid Moussa, president of the union of real estate agents in Lebanon (REAL), who mentions rents having doubled. , three, or even four times in some cases.

Abusive practices

“The greatest demand is for furnished accommodation where people can settle in quickly,” says Hadi Ghrawi, CEO of Royal Reality Real Estate, an agency that rents real estate in Beirut and its surroundings. “Such goods normally represented nearly 50% of the supply. But this stock is almost exhausted today,” he continues. A situation which explains, in part, the extent of the increase in the price of certain goods compared to others.

Our correspondent in South Lebanon Mountasser Abdallah reports for example the case of a furnished apartment with 3 bedrooms in Saida which is now offered for 1,500 dollars per month, compared to 500 a year ago. Similarly, in Kfarkatra (Chouf), the average price of a one-bedroom chalet has tripled over one year, to $600 per month. On the other hand, if rental prices for unfurnished accommodation have also increased in recent weeks, they have increased to a much lesser extent, according to the professionals interviewed. For example, an unfurnished two-bedroom apartment in Saida is currently priced at $500 per month, compared to $300 a year ago, while an empty basement in a village in Chouf is priced at $500 per month. on the market at nearly 500 dollars per month, compared to nearly 200 previously, noted Mountasser Abdallah. The price increase is less strong because the pressure on demand is lower, with the displaced having to “spend even more money to make the place habitable,” explains Walid Moussa. With sometimes unpleasant surprises on this type of emergency expenses as well.

Our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah, was able to see this in this region: “Apart from the fact that rents have exploded recently, in some cases exceeding $2,000 per month – which is unheard of in the area – , the prices of foam mattresses have also followed this trend: they sometimes sell for around 20 dollars each in certain regions of the Bekaa (compared to 7 or 8 dollars previously) and they are no longer found in certain places. » In Saida, on the other hand, Mountasser Abdallah noted that the prices of these mattresses remained unchanged, just like for the rest of food and raw materials. (see box).

Discrimination

In addition to soaring rents in a de facto deregulated market, some displaced people are subjected to certain practices considered abusive, such as the obligation to sign rental contracts for long periods. Hadi Ghrawi further notes that “many owners ask for 3 to 6 months of payment in advance”.

“This can be a way to take advantage of the situation, but sometimes also to try to discourage the Shiite community from finding shelter in certain areas for fear that these people will be linked to Hezbollah and targeted in their new accommodation,” he says.