VIJAYAWADA: While the owners of residential properties in the city are upbeat following the announcement of Vijayawada as the Capital of the truncated Andhra Pradesh, the tenants especially the salaried people fear abnormal hike in the rents. In fact, the house rents have been soaring in the city as the Guntur-Vijayawada region has been touted to become the Capital.
House rents in areas like Benz Circle, Mogalrajpuram, Seetarampuram, Bandar Road, Eluru Road and Governorpet have gone up substantially over the past one month. “In most of these areas, a 2 BHK (2 bedroom- hall-kitchen) house was available for a monthly rent of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,500 until last month and but now their rentals range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000,” K Rama Rao, owner of a rental agency in the city.
Due to the steep increase in rentals, lower middle class people are spending at least 50 per cent of their salaries on their accommodation.
A private employee from the city P Sarath told Express, “The steady increase in house rent is placing an unbearable financial burden on common people. We are spending half the salary on house rents.” The situation in slum areas is no different. The rentals have almost doubled, turning the lives of lower income group people miserable. “Being a daily wage labourer, it is difficult for me to pay an extra Rs 1,000 on rent.
My landlord has been exerting a lot of pressure on me to cough up the extra amount,” said S Koteswara Rao, a resident of Bhavanipuram.
CPM city secretary Ch Babu Rao said at present there was a 30 per cent increase in house rents. “In slum areas too, the rents have raised from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. The government should implement the Andhra Pradesh Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, to help the common man in the city,” he demanded.
Meanwhile, many salaried middle-class residents are reluctantly shifting to the outskirts of the city.
Durga Bhavani, who works in a footwear company in the city, said, “As we are unable to pay the increased house rent in Ajit Singh Nagar, we have shifted to Nunna, a village on the city outskirts.”