By Rawa Abdulla ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Rents in Erbil city have doubled since last year to reach record highs this month, according to data provided by a local tenants’ organization. According to the Erbil’s Union of Tenants, rents climbed faster in the regional capital during the past year than in any other city in the Kurdistan region due to a massive influx of Iraqis, including refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) who flooded the city from rest of the country. Kurdish authorities estimate the number of refugees in Kurdistan Region is nearly 2 million, with tens of thousands of new IDPs fleeing the violence in Anbar last month. Data provided by Erbil’s provincial housing committee shows that now more than 92,000 families, mostly Arabs and Christians, have resided in the city since 2007 when major clashes started in central Iraq. “According to the constitution, we cannot prevent any Iraqis from renting or buying a home in Kurdistan,” said Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi, who denied claims that IDPs had created a housing crisis in the capital. “They have had an impact on the rent levels, but it doesn’t mean they are a big part of the housing problem,” Hadi told Rudaw. But Mahmoud Ismail, head of Erbil’s Union of Tenants, said the IDPs have had a “substantial impact” on the dramatic increase in rents. “The rent for a 100-square-meter house was below $300, but now it is just over $600,” Ismail said. He said in the last year more than 5,000 new tenants were added to their 12,000 member list. He also said major problems, including physical altercations, have occurred between landlords and tenants because of the soaring rents. “We have asked the governor to take the massive influx of IPDs seriously because it will lead to bigger problems,” Ismail said. Erbil’s housing committee said more than 265,000 units have been built in the past 10 years to ease housing problems in the city. Hadi claimed that in the past 10 years the city administration has provided candidates with over 219,000 land lots for housing purposes. Saifadin Qadir who runs a real-estate office in downtown Erbil said most landlords now sign only six-month contracts with tenants because of rapidly fluctuating rents. “After six months, if the rents go up they sign a new contract with the same tenant or find other people who will pay higher rents,” he said. The rents fluctuate based on the Erbil neighborhood the house is located in. According to Qadir, in affluent areas, the rent for a 150 to 250-square-meter home is between $1500- $2500. In less-attractive neighborhoods, the same sized home rents for between $500 to $600.
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