50pc Of Zimbabweans Are Lodgers

Zimbabweans continue facing an acute shortage of affordable housing options amid indications that at least half of the country’s urban population lives in rented accommodation.

This is according to the 2023 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee report (ZimVac) which indicated rented accommodation continues to be an economic survival strategy especially for those who cannot afford their own homes.

“The majority of urban households (50%) were tenants/lodgers and 8% were using tied accommodation,” reads the report.

A tenant or lodger is someone using land or property rented from a landlord while tied accommodation means living somewhere that is provided by one’s employer.

Masvingo had the highest proportion of households which were tenants or lodgers.

“Masvingo had 64.5 households which were tenants or lodgers. Bulawayo had 41.6 percent, Manicaland 50.9 percent, Mashonaland Central 48.6 percent, Mashonaland East 50 percent, Mashonaland West 51.4, Matabeleland North 57.8, Matabeleland South 58.4, Midlands 57.9 and Harare stood at 43.4,” reads part of the report.

The report further shows that at a national level, only 21 percent of urban households had title deeds to their properties while 13 percent owned the property but did not have title deeds.

“Bulawayo (38.3 percent) had the highest proportion of households with title deeds. Harare had the highest proportion of households without title deeds (21.8) percent,” reads the report.

As part of recommendations, the report noted that there is need for the ministry responsible for National Housing and Social Amenities to accelerate programmes aimed at improving access to affordable and quality housing.

The report stated that focus should be on construction of new housing units and upgrading of informal settlements.

It also recommended the input of the private sector towards complementing government efforts in improving access to decent accommodation.

The report also called for collaborations among ratepayers, councils and deeds office to address bottlenecks to accelerate the acquisition of title deeds by home owners, as this has implications on credit worthiness and access to capital. Zimlive