Tenants in Jamalpur municipality are struggling with frequent rent increases and arbitrary rules imposed by landlords amid the absence of a specific policy to regulate house rents.
Despite shortages of basic amenities such as water and gas, landlords continue to raise rents, putting pressure on jobholders from outside the district, students and bachelors who depend on rented accommodation.
The 157-year-old municipality has nearly 200,000 residents across more than 30,000 holdings.
Many people coming to the town for education and employment rely on rented houses and messes but face unilateral rent decisions due to the lack of fixed regulations.
Tenants said they pay Tk 4,000–5,000 a month even for a small room with cylinder gas facilities.
Landlords often cite rising prices of daily essentials to justify rent increases.
Ripon, a tenant on Shaheed Harun Road, said bachelors face annual rent increases and often struggle to find accommodation because many landlords are unwilling to rent to them.
Ruman, a tenant in Chamragudam, said landlords frequently change their rules and raise rents despite shortages of water and gas.
Rifat, a tenant in Gatepar, also criticised landlords for imposing arbitrary conditions that tenants have little choice but to accept.
Landlords, however, defended the increases, citing construction costs, safety and rising market prices.
Rukun, a landlord in Dewanpara, said they set rules to ensure the safety and mutual benefit of tenants and property owners, noting that building houses requires investments of lakhs and crores of taka.
Nasibul Haque, owner of a four-storey building in Boshpara, said rising prices of goods leave landlords with little choice but to increase rents to cover expenses.
Jahangir Selim, a member of the Jamalpur District Housing Committee, called for a specific rent policy through co-ordination between the municipality and local administration.
He said such a framework would ensure landlords’ accountability and allow authorities to monitor the supply of basic amenities, including water, gas and electricity.
Md Hafizur Rahman, executive officer of Jamalpur municipality, said the municipality had not received any written complaint about house rent disputes. He assured that if complaints were submitted, notices would be issued to both parties to resolve the issues through mutual reconciliation.
