A New Perspective on Renting in Iran; Up to 30 Million for Living in Basements

Iranian media has reported on the prevalence of living in basements in various cities, stating that rental costs have risen to such an extent that some are turning to basement rentals for housing. According to advertisements published on housing platforms, in Shiraz, a 60 square meter basement is being rented for 130 million tomans in advance. In Mashhad, a 50 square meter basement is advertised with a 50 million toman advance and a monthly rent of 5 million tomans. In Tehran's Tehranpars district, a 180 square meter basement is listed for 30 million tomans monthly with a 200 million toman advance. The newspaper 'Shargh' also reported today, Saturday, February 10, on the commencement of construction of 'micro-apartments' to address the housing crisis, noting that a town covering one million square meters in Tehran province has been designated for the construction of 20,000 affordable housing units, with preliminary infrastructure work already underway. Recent reports indicate that currently in Tehran, a 10 square meter single room in the 'Amin Hozoor' neighborhood is being rented for 10 million tomans in advance and 3 million tomans monthly. Media also reported in November of this year that rental prices have broken records not seen in the last 30 years. The demand for 10 square meter rooms comes as the newspaper 'Donya-e-Eqtesad' reported on November 7 that statistics show a record number of residents living in homes up to 40 square meters in the capital this year. A report from the Iranian Statistical Center indicates that the average price per square meter of apartments has risen from 6.2 million tomans in spring 2018 to over 80.8 million tomans currently. The Research Center of the Parliament, as a research arm of the government, also noted in a report this August that the lowest income deciles are increasingly unable to secure housing, with the first to third deciles completely unable and the third to fifth and parts of the sixth decile 'relatively' unable to afford necessary housing.