Sudanese refugee Mahand and his family were forced to leave their apartment in Cairo after the property owner insisted on tripling the rent, taking advantage of the influx of Sudanese refugees to Egypt due to the ongoing war in their country.
Mahand, 35 years old, arrived in Egypt with his wife and three children in the first week of May, about two weeks after the conflict broke out between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
He told Agence France-Presse (AFP), "We arrived before the heavy influx of refugees and rented a furnished apartment for 6,000 Egyptian pounds (194 dollars) per month for six months." This amount is equivalent to the average monthly income of an Egyptian family, according to official figures.
He continued, "After the Sudanese began arriving in large numbers, the property owner decided to increase the rent to 18,000 pounds (582.5 dollars). She even said that there are those willing to pay 25,000 pounds per month."
Around the same time, the family received news that their house in Khartoum had been looted and robbed.
Mahand, who, like others interviewed by AFP, preferred to use his first name only, refused the rent increase, stating, "especially since the apartment does not deserve it," which led the property owner to harass the family to force them to leave, he said.
He explained, "She cut off our water and internet... and threw things at us from the top." Thus, the family was forced to search for another place.
Other refugees have recounted facing similar conditions in Egypt, where the economy has been affected by years of political crises, security shocks, and violence, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the war in Ukraine. Consequently, property owners do not hesitate to raise prices if given the opportunity, even if the tenants are fleeing from war.
Increased Demand for Housing -
However, real estate analyst Mahmoud Al-Laithi Nasif does not see the influx of Sudanese as the main reason for the increase in rental prices, attributing it to the economic crisis instead.
He told AFP, "Many residents of downtown Cairo moved to new cities on the outskirts of the capital and rented out their old apartments in the hope of alleviating the impact of the economic crisis on them."
The Egyptian pound lost more than half of its value against the US dollar about a year ago due to a decision by the Central Bank to achieve exchange rate flexibility set by the International Monetary Fund. Annual inflation rates reached a record level of 36.8% in June.
This situation affects the refugees who have arrived in Egypt after the conflict in Sudan, which has resulted in the death of about 3,000 people and the displacement of over 3 million, with more than 700,000 seeking refuge in neighboring countries, especially northern Egypt and western Chad, according to the International Organization for Migration.
According to United Nations data and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over 250,000 Sudanese have arrived in Egypt since the war began on April 15.
Refugees seek to rent accommodations in the city of 6th of October, west of Cairo, where the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is located.
Mohamed, a real estate broker in the city, said, "We can no longer find available units for rent" in the residential neighborhoods, while the "buying and selling market is stagnant."
He explained to AFP, "The average monthly rent for a furnished property ranged between 7,000 and 8,000 pounds. Now it has increased to 10,000 pounds (323.6 dollars) or more if it is close to the UNHCR headquarters."
He added, "Many people have been forced to live in remote areas to afford rental expenses."
In upscale neighborhoods in downtown Cairo, such as Zamalek and Garden City, rental prices have only increased slightly, according to one broker. He added that in Dokki, the rent for a two-bedroom apartment increased to 17,000-18,000 pounds per month.
In the eastern Cairo district of Heliopolis, rental prices in older buildings increased from 7,000-8,000 pounds to 12,000 pounds (388.3 dollars).
Al-Laithi Nasif said, "Egypt has previously witnessed the influx of citizens from conflict-stricken countries. We have seen Iraqis, Yemenis, and Syrians before." At that time, rental prices also increased.
He said, "It all depends on supply and demand; it's the dynamics of the market. Once the wave of Sudanese arrivals subsides, the situation will stabilize."
"On the Streets" -
Mahand, who resided in the Haram district in western Cairo, said, "I saw a Sudanese woman sitting on the street with her children and belongings... she couldn't afford the rent for her accommodation for another month after the owner decided to increase it."
He added, "She told me that her husband is still in Halfa (in northern Sudan) waiting to obtain an entry visa to Egypt."
Ashraf, in his forties, decided to search for an unfurnished home for his family of nine. He said, "My large family can no longer afford the exaggerated prices of furnished apartments."
After extensive searching, Ashraf found an apartment in the Giza district, facing the Pyramids of Giza, for 3,500 pounds per month (113.2 dollars).
He told AFP, "After just one week, the rental value of similar units in the same area increased to 5,000 pounds due to the influx of Sudanese."
AFP