The Landlord and Tenants Information Referral Center […]

The Landlord and Tenants Information Referral Center has called on stakeholders in the land sector and the government to expand the rent-to-buy initiative to allow many Zambians to own homes. Speaking in an interview with the Zambia Business Times – ZBT, LTIRC Director Roban Muke bemoaned the adverse impact of the deficit in housing, with the majority of the population renting, which has escalated disputes with landlords.

 Rent to buy is a global initiative that implies leasing a property with the option or obligation to purchase it at a later date. Interestingly, in 2021 the Zambia Union of Government and Allied Workers penned an MOU with Collins Mutual costing $1.4 billion over the construction of 40,000 housing units across Zambia. This was bound to allow entry-level workers to pay rentals at a minimum charge of K2,500 per month.

However, according to information gathered by the Zambian, the initiative has faced numerous challenges to tick off, and efforts to get a comment from the initiators proved unsuccessful. Normally, landlords prefer cash to protect against financial instability, and the volatile inflation often raises wider risks of defaults. Hence, this initiative appears not to be fully backed, a concern that Muke raised, stating that such an initiative will allow for more homeowners in the country.

 ”It is a progressive idea; it is a model that is being used even by bus owners, who give timelines to the drivers to work for the bus, and it is working, and when it comes to renting, it will be good for tenants to do that as well.” “They can agree that you will be here for maybe five or ten years, and whatever target they have agreed on could be a great idea; it will be good that now a tenant will be breathing well.”

 He called on the government to encourage the private sector in taking keen interest in the venture to curb the rising landlord-tenant disputes and eliminate the shortage of housing, which is pegged at 1.5 million housing units.

Article by Samuel Mutale