| Abstract: | Rental housing is increasingly acknowledged as a valuable housing solution in developing countries and is therefore becoming a focus for policy discussions. This paper describes the rental market in Indonesia based on the results of 60 semi-structured renter-related interviews. It appears that the rental subsector is housing a large and highly varied portion of the urban population quite effectively. The results of this survey indicate that rental units are generally produced on a small scale on or near the same property as the owner's home. The unit construction occurs in increments as funds become available and is rarely financed formally. This represents an easy and flexible form of investment for a group otherwise generally uninterested in placing savings in formal institutions. The typical rental property owner is less motivated by profit accumulations than by the security of a steady supplemental income and the possibility of a future unit for his children. As a result, tenant-landlord relationships tend to be quite casual and family-like, unlike the exploitative relationship often described. Further studies need to explore how future policy could support the activities of the Indonesian rental market and improve the quality of rental units that are being produced. |
