What's up with renting here?

[Pak Har]

Why does every landlord want a year's rent upfront? Or 6 months and a deposit.

I dont even know anyone with that kind of cash lying around.

And these arent usually cheap places either 7jt++ a month for a studio or 1 bedroom.

Is it just the culture here or is it greed?

Hi Tex,

Of course it is not some kind of greed or greedy, as you said.
Especially here, we will avoid this type of word when we speak to other.

As per the security Deposit: I heard it is because in the past some "people" who rented the house or apt left without notice to the landlord and leave the water and electricity bill unpaid for several months.
Whilst for upfront one year or 6 months rent, it is because the landlord need to provide (or they have provided) some good furniture before you check-in and make some repair and improvement to the house/apartment, and these effort need a lot of money.

I hope these clarify your inquiry . Thanks

 

[nd_eric_77]

A lot of it is inertia and supply vs. demand. If the supply is tight and demand is high, the rent and conditions of the contract will favor the landlords. If there is an oversupply of empty units and a shortage of willing renters, the market will favor the renters. Even the length of contracts reflects this; during times of high inflation, renters with longterm plans often prefer the longest contract possible. In the current, (relatively) low inflation environment, landlords prefer the longest contract possible.

 

[harryopal1]

Everyone seems to be in places like Jakarta or Bali. I am on Flores. I think the explanation is that many years ago a basic house was just dirt cheap. In 2009 I rented a substantial home for 8 juta per year, and paying 16 juta for two years was no burden for the security of knowing we had that place for at least two years. Rent has gone up in recent years, as one would expect. Landlords are slow in changing the yearly payment to shorter terms. In a sense it is fair. You get a house to yourself for a year, they get an amount that they can do something with. Had we been paying monthly on the property mentioned, the owner would be getting 666 ribu a month, and he lived in another town before bank transfers made things potentially easier. 70-odd dollars soon goes. Then "kost" became more common, pokey little places charging per month.

Curious about life in Flores. What was the basis of your decision to live there? Was it employment?
And how about the general costs for living and standard of wifi available? One can find many links through Google but are there any particular web links that you would suggest for the kind of information about which I have asked above?

 

[jukung11]

I am on Flores.

I am also more interested to read about your experiance in Flores. I see you don't post much. Welcome.

 

[jukung11]

Why does every landlord want a year's rent upfront? Or 6 months and a deposit.

I dont even know anyone with that kind of cash lying around.

I think this has already been covered how common and cultural this is.

The family unit is the core of Indonesian society. Most Indonesians live in multigenerational households. The next generation will either save up for the deposit or parents/family will contribute or lend to be paid back. Indonesia is a country with a weak civil court system. It is corrupt and expensive for most people. Along with nd_eric_77 stated, the deposit is a form of a credit check for a landlord. If you are not credit worthy to pay back your family, do not have enough family wealth for the deposit, or are not self disciplined enough to save, you are not worth renting to anyway.

As puspawarna touched on the oil and gas industry, it was common for some companies to pay the rent for the employee as part of employment. Under the old system, it was easier for companies to get working visas for employment by showing all the money they were putting back into Indonesia for the foreign worker (rent, house keeper, driver). Remember, 75% of all working visas in Indonesia go to middle managment of multi-national Asian companies (China, South Korea, India, and Japan). It is not uncommon for the company to pay upfront.