Kakinada: Covid playing havoc with lives of tenants

Kakinada: It's a double whammy for tenants who contracted Covid as they have to vacate the present premises and find new house at a higher rent while maintaining the family with meagre income.

Already underpaid and facing cut in salary and wages on the pretext of Covid pandemic, many working-class families are not in a position to cope with the tragedy of being hospitalised or loss of life in family. At a time when the prices of essentials are skyrocketing, the demands of the house owners to cough up high rents and conditions set to stay on rent are proving costly for the poor families during the pandemic.

To add to the misery of Covid patients, many owners of the houses have been telling them to vacate the rented premises on their return from hospital.

If any family member of the tenant gets infected, the owners are not allowing them to reside in the house and advising them to go to the hospital. If the tenant is capable of paying the rent prescribed by the owner, the house owner is informing him about hike in the rental charges. If the tenant is not in a position to pay the hiked charges, the house owners are forcing them to vacate on the pretext that they want the portion as their son or daughter will come and stay in the portion.

Many house owners have suddenly increased the rents during this critical Covid crisis. In the cities of Rajamahendravaram, Amalapuramand Kakinada, they are demanding Rs 10,000 per month for three rooms. Advance for three to four months is the prerequisite for any tenant who is interested to occupy new premises in these cities.

The tenants are expressing their helplessness to pay such high rent during this period as some of them are not getting full salary. Many of them are not able to pay the electricity charges also.

On the other hand, the owners are threatening the tenants to vacate, if they can't pay the enhanced rent. A resident A Srinviasa Rao, who is residing in a rental house in Kakinada said that they are not in a position to pay the present rent and wonder how they can pay the hiked rent.

The tenants have been appealing the government to take steps to save them from high rents. In fact, nearly 40,000 residents in Kakinada were allotted housing units under Dr YSR Housing Scheme. But the houses have not been constructed yet. If the construction of the houses is completed, many of the tenants may vacate their present rental portions. Meanwhile, the house owners are putting pressure on them.

The tenants say that their salaries have not been hiked and also some of the companies or traders are not paying their salaries regularly on the pretext of lockdown. The tenants have been appealing to the district authorities to implement the Rental Act and help them from harassment of the owners.

The house owners say that they are depending upon the rents and at present all prices have been hiked. It is inevitable to hike their rents. They said that the house owners as well as the tenants are contracting the virus. But if the tenant gets infected, it will spread to the owners also, they complain.