Rental Housing for Urban Poor : Assessing the effectiveness of Maharashtra Rent Control Act of 1999

Abstract

Urban Poor in Indian cities face serious housing exclusion in the form of dilapidated and inadequate accommodation. Rental housing can be a key solution to alleviate urban poor from their existing housing condition to a more formal, adequate and affordable housing situation. State-level Rent Control Acts are one the major bottlenecks in achieving that goal. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act of 1999 and other informal rental mechanisms have been in ensuring affordable housing for the poor in Mumbai. These informal rental mechanisms are the practice of Pagdi, and Leave-and-License Arrangement.

In the broadly qualitative study, interviews were done with urban-planners, property-owners, tenants to understand their narrative of the rental mechanism’s for-the-poor performance and future vision. Analysis of the responses demonstrated that well-to-do segments have substantially displaced poor from accessing rental housing in Mumbai.

The study would have been incomplete by simply answering the supply-side lacunas. Hence, it went ahead to understand the demand-side of rental housing i.e. the poor’s needs and capacities to access temporary housing. It was done through face-to-face administered questionnaire and a few secondary sources across an indicative geography in Mumbai. This will provide useful insights for future supply-side efforts by concerned stakeholders.

The results indicate that Maharashtra Rent Control Act and other informal mechanisms have marginal impact in supplying affordable rental housing to poor in Mumbai. On that basis, unfreezing of rents and streamlining of informal mechanisms is recommended.