The organization and performance of a low income rental market - The case of Gaborone, Botswana

Housing deficits have reached alarming proportions in many Third World cities where demand continues to exceed supply. In the main, most independent governments have concentrated upon the provision of owner-occupation with negative consequences for other forms of tenure. Partly due to this neglect, there are relatively few studies which have examined the dynamics of the rental sector in spite of the fact that increasing numbers of urban residents are renting, either through choice or due to constraints. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on renting and will examine the organisation and the performance of a low income rental market in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana. It will start by looking at the urban demand for housing and the manner in which the state has responded to this demand. The paper will then go on to specifically examine the workings of the private rental market. It will conclude by looking at the prospects of rental housing in view of recent changes which have sought to create a free housing market. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.