Amman, Jordan

As of Saturday afternoon, I am in Amman, Jordan. The issue of the Bedouins has been put aside for now - having solved, as my previous post suggested, almost nothing - and we're now looking at an issue a bit less depressing, if equally as controversial.

Rental contracts in Jordan, for both commercial and residential uses, are governed by the Landlords and Tenants Law of 1994. Essentially, this is a rent control act that keeps rents very low, and prevents landlords from evicting tenants except in the most extreme cases, and leases that were initially for 1-2 years have been extended indefinitely. This means that long-term renters in a single place are paying rents that were set, in many instances, tens of years ago. (The first law was enacted in 1953, and was replaced with minor changes in 1994. This means that some contracts that were formed in the 1950s are still in place today!)

In 2000, the Landlords and Tenants Law was amended - at the end of 2010, all contracts that have technically terminated will end, and landlords will be given the authority to ask for whatever rent they'd like, or evict their tenants. The problem: a substantial percentage of the building units in Amman (estimates by our NGO client are about 70%) are rented, which raises the spectre of substantial displacement in 2011. If I and my family cannot afford the new rent set, I won't be able to find a new place, because rent set there will likely be substantially higher than previous as well! Not to mention the fact that the expired leases will include public and private schools, bakeries, hospitals, etc ...

The government is well aware that this has the potential to cause "substantial unrest" in society, and has proclaimed 2008 the "year of housing." To that end, the Ministry of Justice has convened a committee to study the issue and make recommendations for amendments to this law (or issuance of a new one). Our role: get a basic background of the situation, by discussing the issue with government officials, lawyers, and representatives of both tenants and landlords, and then issue a short memo discussing the international legal standards that should be considered by those working towards a resolution. Presumably, our NGO will then take this information and formulate a submission to the committee.

It's a fascinating issue, because there is no "right" side - while no one wants thousands of families to get evicted from their homes, it is unfair that the individual landlords have been subsidizing the housing crisis, since it is in fact the responsibility of the government.

We currently have six meetings lined up, and we're hoping for more. Meanwhile, we're enjoying Amman, which is, despite the pending housing crisis, a charming and comfortable city.