The Right to Adequate Housing in Ethiopia: The Need to Regulate Private Rental Housing Sector

Abstract

Post 1991 the private rental-housing sector in Ethiopia was providing housing to the majority of tenants. However, the private rental housing market was unregulated. The left unregulated of the private rental market have resulted in socially undesirable consequences such as unreasonable rental price levels and eviction. In this paper, the writer argues that the private rental market should have to be regulated in order to provide decent and affordable rental accommodation for the poor and low-income households for the following reasons. First, due to their low and irregular income, these groups are not beneficiaries from the government subsidized homeownership schemes; second, public rental sector that can serve as "safety net” for these groups is not functioning efficiently and of slum standard because of deterioration, and lack of basic services. Consequently, the stock was found in state of unfit for living. Thirdly, a shortage of affordable rental accommodation, combined with an effect of inflation, justify the enactment of rent control law in the private rental-housing sector since it would be in the public interest.