adminoperating below GDP per capita by purchasing parity of properties which is US$635 while other countries in the region were performing better.
“Zimbabwe as of now is operating at US$635 while other countries in the region like Botswana has US$14 000. This means that we are operating below expected levels,” he said.
However, other property experts were saying that the rentals are reasonable considering the current ailing economy of Zimbabwe.
“Considering the current challenges in the Zimbabwean economy, rentals are reasonable. Other economies like South Africa and Angola are performing better than us because they have good economies,” said a participant at the seminar.
The REIZ also said that they set up a database last year through which property owners woulde update them on defaulters.
“We set up a database last year which keeps a record of defaulters, for careful selection of tenants,” said a REIZ official.
“Currently, property owners are achieving different rates per square metre, among them Mashonaland Holdings charging retail rates at US$15 to US$25 while office rates range from US$10 to US$40,” said Mr Lawrence Chanaka, another property expert.
In the meantime, property experts are lobbying for change in the remedies available to a landlord in rent disputes.
The legal process involved in the eviction of bad tenants was also condemned by property owners because it was time-consuming.
This condemnation comes at a time when the courts are taking long to give tenants eviction orders for periods between five months to two years.
“The major challenge is that eviction orders are taking long to process in the courts of law. Most of them take up to five months and even years to process,” said an official from Southgate Properties.
A recent example is that of Spar Arundel which took two years to process the eviction order. The landlord filed an application for eviction in 2011 only for the magistrates’ courts to issue eviction orders this year.
Online Reporter