As economic activities came to a grinding halt amid the nationwide shutdown aimed at curbing the transmission of coronavirus, tenants in Dhaka and other cities urged the government to waive house rents and utility bills for three months from April.   Many say they are out of job and do not have enough to feed their families. With the situation showing no sign of improvement, they say they are worried about their survival.   Small businessmen also requested the government to forgo utility bills to help them survive and continue business.   During the shutdown, the low-income group who live from hand to mouth, such as rickshaw pullers, transport workers, day-labourers, hawkers, transport workers, employees of hotels, restaurants and different shops, markets, among others, have been hit the hardest.

 
According to Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2017, around 44 percent dwelling houses in urban areas are rented. Housing and house rent take up 17.25 percent of monthly household consumption expenditure. By adding five percent of total spending on utilities, monthly housing related spending becomes almost one-fourth of the total spending of a family, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data showed.
 
President of Bharatia Parishad Baharane Sultan Bahar told UNB that around 90 percent people are tenants in the capital while the rest 10 percent are house owners.
 
“The tenants are facing hardship as many of them are now jobless because of the lockdown-like situation. They can’t feed their families properly in this situation, how they will pay rents!” he said.
 
Bahar said he has been receiving complaints from tenants that house owners were creating pressure on them for rent even at this crisis moment.

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“We request the government to waive house rents and utility bills for middle- and low-income people for April, May and June. We won’t survive if the government doesn’t stand by us,” he said.
 
Bahar said a house owner in Dhaka’s Kathalbagan forced a family to vacate the flat at night as the tenant failed to pay rent.

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Akidul Islam, a street vendor, lives in a dilapidated house with his family in old Dhaka’s Bangshal. He has to pay a monthly rent of Tk 8,000.
 
“I used to earn Tk 500-600 every day but I’ve had no income from March 26 when the government declared holiday. It’s extremely difficult for me to support my family but my landlord is mounting pressure to pay rent. I don’t know how I’ll pay the rent and buy food for my family,” he said.
 
University students, who supported themselves by offering tuitions, are in a pickle of trouble. With an acute shortage of residential facilities provided by the universities, many students like Masud Hasan are forced to live in shared apartments. The Jagannath University student said he has to pay Tk 6,000 as rent.

 
“I lost my tuition due to lockdown. I’m from a poor family and I don’t know how I’ll pay rent,” he said.
 
Billal Hossain, owner of Allar Dan Biryani House in Old Dhaka, said lack of customers has been hurting business since March 26.
 
“I’ve to pay about Tk 76,000 as rent for this restaurant and my flat. Business has nosedived since the announcement of holidays. We can stay afloat if the government waives the bills and house owners condone rent,” he added.
 
Rabeya Akter Ripa, a house owner, said she waived rents for two families considering the crisis period. “We can’t waive house rents if the government doesn’t condone utility bills,” she said.  
 
Another landlord from Nazirabazar, Mohsin Mia, said he has a six-storey building and his tenants are requesting him to waive the rent. “I can waive rents for three months if the government condones all electricity, gas, and water bills.”
 
Former caretaker government finance adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam said urban poor are facing a serious problem over paying house rent since they have no income now.
 
“There’re many landlords who are solvent and they can voluntarily waive or hold off the rent until normalcy restores. But many house owners also don’t have the ability to waive the rent as it’s the main source of their income,” he told UNB.
 
Dr Islam said it’s a problem that the government has no proper scheme for the urban poor. “The government can provide a grant for the extreme urban poor and day-labourers so that they can buy food for their families and pay their house rent,” he said.
 
Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said around four million poor people in the city are jobless. It is difficult for them to manage food for their families, let alone paying the house rent.
 
He said the government can introduce food rationing for them.
 
“NBR can waive some income tax of house owners who will in turn relive their poor tenants from the burden of rent. Besides, the city authorities can waive the holding taxes,” he said.