To: Dr. Ashraf Ghani, Director, Afghanistan Aid Coordination Authority (“AACA”)
From: The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (“ACBAR”)
Cc: The United Nations (UN), Embassies, Donors, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) and other international actors engaged in humanitarian and reconstruction activities in Afghanistan.
Re: Concerns related to housing rents in Afghanistan
Date: 12 May, 2002
On 5 May, 2002, approximately 60 international and Afghan NGOs attended an NGO coordination meeting at ACBAR. At that meeting, a decision was made that ACBAR should submit a memorandum to the AACA raising NGO concerns regarding increases in housing prices. ACBAR is also releasing a press statement at this time. The following points summarize our concerns:
Housing costs have escalated dramatically in the past few months, sometimes by twenty or thirty times and more. This trend looks likely to continue.
A major cause of housing costs has been demand at the high end of the market triggered by demand from the UN, INGOs, international financial institutions, donors and embassies. A trickle down effect results as those evicted from high-end residences seek new accommodation further down the scale, leading to further evictions as landlords seek to profit from this uncontrolled market.
NGOs are concerned that many of these evictions are illegal, and tenants, particularly the poor, have no practical legal recourse to protection.
Some landlords are making fraudulent claims that high taxes are forcing them to raise rents. They are then insisting that tenants sign two leases in order to avoid these taxes (one for the tenant at a high rent and one presented to the government at a lower rent).
Many local NGO staff and Afghan residents are finding it very difficult to find accommodation. The average rent for basic accommodation for a family in many parts of the city exceeds the salaries of many Afghan NGO staff.
Repatriation into Kabul continues at a swift pace. Some estimate that the population of Kabul may have increased by as much as 10% in 2 months. Despite efforts to ensure that returns are spread throughout the country, many returnees claim that insecurity and destruction in rural areas is making it impossible to return to their homes of origin.
Legal restrictions are making reconstruction of housing in certain areas impossible without paying bribes.
UNCHR estimates that 100,000 new shelters will have to be built in Kabul in the next few months.
Some areas of Kabul (e.g. West Kabul) are not being adequately protected by ISAF and are considered insecure by many Afghan professionals. Hence they are understandably reluctant to house their families there.
The international community refuses to support the expansion of ISAF outside of Kabul. Consequently, NGOs are concerned that many more Afghans, fearing insecurity in unprotected areas, will want to migrate to urban centers where there is more stability.
The population increase in Kabul will have many potentially negative effects on social systems:
Demands on the cities’ water and sanitation capacity will increase.
There will be a greater risk of health epidemics. Levels of cholera, malaria, and diarrhea will almost certainly increase.
There will be increased demands on a fragile infrastructure and nascent transport system.
There are likely to be security-related problems resulting from overpopulation, unemployment, the high cost of living, and resentment between returnees and the preexisting population.
Recommendations:
NGOs urge the Interim Administration to place greater emphasis in the National Development Budget and National Development Framework on housing needs generally.
NGOs call for the Interim Administration to take concrete measure to protect the right to shelter of all Afghans. Such measures should both protect current tenants from unlawful evictions as well as aim to provide adequate shelter for vulnerable populations in particular (including but not limited to landless returnees, widow headed households, women, the extreme poor and the disabled).
Specifically, NGOs urge the Interim administration (1) to impose rent controls specifically targeted at protecting those in lower income brackets, (2) to clarify the official tax burden on landlords and to ensure a lesser burden on the lower end of the market, and (3) to relax current restrictions on housing reconstruction, particularly at the lower end of the market.
We call on the international community to address the security problems contributing to overpopulation and housing shortages in Kabul. Specifically, we urge ISAF (1) to provide security throughout Kabul, and (2) to take the necessary steps to expand its operations throughout Afghanistan until a trained Afghan security force is in place.
