Housing is a basic human necessity, not a luxury reserved for the wealthy. Yet in The Gambia today, finding a decent house to rent has become an expensive and frustrating ordeal for ordinary citizens. Desperate tenants are being exploited by unscrupulous agents, unreasonable rental demands, and a system that offers far too little protection to those simply trying to secure a roof over their heads.

The time has come for rent control and proper regulation of the real estate industry in The Gambia.

Consider the ordeal prospective tenants face. Some property agents demand D500 or more merely to show a vacant property. Even more disturbing are reports of agents taking prospective tenants to properties they know have already been rented out. People lose their hard-earned money, waste precious time, and are left with nothing but frustration.

Is this how a responsible housing market should operate?

The exploitation does not end with agents. Tenants are increasingly confronted with demands for six months’ rent in advance, alongside security deposits equivalent to two additional months’ rent. In effect, a family may be required to produce the equivalent of eight months’ rent before moving into a house.

For ordinary Gambians, particularly young people, newly married couples, civil servants, low-income earners, and families struggling with the rising cost of living, this is an enormous financial burden.

How can we expect people to build stable lives when securing a place to live requires them to surrender eight months’ rent upfront?

A worker earning a modest salary may have to borrow money, exhaust savings, or depend on relatives just to secure accommodation. Meanwhile, unscrupulous intermediaries can profit from people’s desperation without adequate accountability.

This is unacceptable. The housing market cannot be allowed to operate as a law unto itself.

The government must introduce a comprehensive framework to regulate the rental market and professionalise the real estate industry.

First, real estate agents and companies must be licensed and registered. Their fees should be transparent, reasonable, and legally regulated. Agents who collect viewing fees must be held accountable, and deliberate deception, including knowingly presenting already-rented properties as available, should attract meaningful penalties.

Second, the government must review rental advance requirements and establish a fair legal framework governing advance payments and security deposits. Tenants should not be subjected to arbitrary demands that make decent accommodation inaccessible to ordinary families.

Third, landlords, agents, and real estate companies must operate under clear rules governing tenancy agreements, rent increases, security deposits, refunds, and dispute resolution. Tenants must have access to an effective and affordable mechanism for lodging complaints and seeking redress.

Rent control must be carefully designed to protect tenants from excessive increases without discouraging the construction and maintenance of rental properties. The objective is to have a fair and transparent housing market, not the destruction of legitimate property investment.

There is another important question that demands answers: are landlords, estate agents, and real estate companies declaring their rental income accurately and paying the taxes required by law?

The Gambia Revenue Authority must investigate whether rental income is being properly declared and taxed. Where under-declaration or tax evasion is established, the law must be enforced without fear or favour.

It is difficult to justify a system in which tenants are subjected to enormous upfront costs while questions remain about whether all those profiting from the rental market are meeting their tax obligations.

The GRA should conduct a transparent assessment of tax compliance in the sector, strengthen registration and reporting requirements, and hold all non-compliant operators accountable.

Ordinary citizens must not be easy targets for collection while powerful and well-connected interests escape scrutiny.

The public also has a legitimate right to question whether political connections are influencing the government’s willingness to regulate the real estate sector.

President Adama Barrow’s past association with rent collection and the reported involvement of members of his family in real estate have become part of the public debate. These circumstances, on their own, do not establish wrongdoing or prove that the government has deliberately avoided regulation. However, they make transparency and accountability even more important.

The President and his government must demonstrate that public policy is determined by the national interest, not private or family interests.

No individual, company, landlord, or political associate should be above the law. If the government is serious about protecting citizens, it must be prepared to regulate the industry fairly, investigate tax compliance, and enforce the rules regardless of who may be affected.

Leadership is not merely about collecting revenue or delivering speeches. It is about confronting problems that affect people’s everyday lives, even when doing so may inconvenience influential interests.

The Gambia needs a modern rental housing policy that balances the legitimate interests of landlords with the fundamental need to protect tenants from exploitation.

We need licensed agents, transparent fees, fair tenancy agreements, reasonable limits on advance rent and deposits, effective complaint mechanisms, and rigorous enforcement of tax laws.

We also need a government willing to listen to tenants, many of whom have no meaningful bargaining power when negotiating with landlords and agents.

Housing must not become a mechanism for trapping working families in debt before they have even settled into their homes.

The government must act. The National Assembly must debate the issue. The GRA must investigate tax compliance. And the relevant authorities must develop a regulatory framework that brings order, fairness, and accountability to the rental market.

A home should be the beginning of security, not the beginning of financial hardship.

The people of The Gambia deserve better. Tenants deserve dignity. Responsible landlords deserve a properly regulated market. And those who exploit desperation must face the consequences.

Rent control is no longer a conversation we can postpone. It is a national necessity. The time for excuses is over. The time for action is now.

Tombong Saidy UNITE