Hikes in Commercial Properties Rent Sparks Furore

Tolerant rent increases under the recently signed social contract are the only way to curb the rampant soaring of rents on commercial premises by property owners, a stakeholders indaba held to tackle issues concerning the Zimbabwe property sector in an effort to tame inflation declared recently.
The indaba - organised by the department for Policy Implementation in the office of the President and Cabinet and held at the Rainbow Towers Hotel - also came up with a think tank to look into the issues raised by the property sector stakeholders present and map the way forward.
At the no holds barred debate, there were accusations and counter accusations by tenants, who intimated that estate agents and landlords were fleecing them of their profits by charging exorbitant prices on a monthly basis, while the latter pointed to the prevailing hyper inflationary environment as an excuse.

A particular sticking point was the accusation by tenants that they were being charged rent in foreign currency - with black market rates being used.
Led by the Minister of State for Policy Implementation in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Cde. Webster Shamu, speaker after speaker, who included president of the Indigenous Business Women's Organisation Mrs. Jane Mutasa, stressed the need for parties involved to adopt the way of the social contract and hold rent increases so as to achieve the projected drastic fall of inflation to 25 percent by year end.
Currently. Inflation is hovering around 3 700 percent.
Top on the grievances of tenants was the requirement by the landlords that the former pay operating costs like maintenance of the building, paying for security, insurance, electricity, water and other rates.
"The basic rent represents a net return to the landlord," mourned Mr. Godwills Masimirembwa, legal and corporate services director of Wedzera Petroleum. "The landlord has no cost, absolutely no cost to meet."
To which solution lay the unit of purpose that marked the signing of the social contract on June 1.
Said Mr. Masimirembwa: "Cut down profit margins and consequently reduce rentals for the national good; for only bold decisions are going to help the real estate industry contribute to a massive reduction in inflation."
His sentiments were echoed by other speakers, mainly representatives of commercial tenants, government ministries and the Rent Board, which was criticised for being a toothless bull dog that took no action while estate agents and property owners ripped tenants off.
The Harare City council - conspicuous by its absence - also got the flak from Cde. Paddington Japajapa intimated that council had virtually facilitated the return of flea markets to every corner of the city by giving shop space to foreigners, yet the same places were closed off to local traders.
But Mrs. Mutasa expressed reservations about the social contract, saying that there was need to educate the public about what it was all about to ensure its effectiveness.
"We need a holistic approach, because many people have no idea what the social contract stands for," she said.

For the property owners, a speaker charged that they could not just reduce prices, let alone stagnate them, when government itself was the first to charge imports of luxury cars in foreign currency.

He dismissed the notion of the social contract as a ploy by government to transfer its failures to the already suffering public, calling it the "from government failure to collective failure syndrome."
In the end a think tank - chaired by Mr. Masimirembwa with Cde. Japajapa as his deputy - to look into the grievances raised from the meeting was formed and endowed with the unenviable task of coming with recommendations on the way forward in the next two days.
The tank is all inclusive, with representatives from the Rent Board, estate agents, commercial tenants, the Harare Municipality, IBWO and government also included.
The deputy minister of state for Indigenisation and Empowerment, Doctor Tracy Mutinhiri, also attended.