Renad Ghanem

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — It was very common to see non-Arab expatriate families sharing flats to save money spent on house rents.



Although it is illegal in the Kingdom for more than one family to share an apartment, it is becoming commonplace with the unprecedented increase in living costs. Two or three families share a five-bedroom apartment where each family lives in one room and shares the bathroom and kitchen.



However, Arab expatriates were reluctant to share their apartment with others for privacy reasons until recently.



With rent prices rising everywhere, many Arab families have no choice but to share apartments, usually with close relatives, to save expenses on housing in the hope that rent costs will go down soon.



Saudi families sharing apartments with relatives is quite rare though it is normal to see them living next to each other in separate units or in apartments in one building.



Ahmed Al-Wakil, an Egyptian employee in the private sector, rented an apartment and shared it with his parents and brother.



He said his parents and brother could not cope with the rising rent and decided to spread the cost.



“We rented a four-bedroom apartment. The master bedroom is for my parents, one for me and my children, the third one for my brother and his wife and the fourth is the living room,” said Ahmed.



He said the concept of sharing an apartment with relatives is not new for Egyptians because it is commonplace back home.



Ahmed said he has to put up with a lot of inconveniences while sharing an apartment with three other families but he is left with no choice.



He said there could be daily problems when relatives live together, especially between the women.



"Despite these troubles, living with relatives is, however, better than living alone and paying huge amounts in rent. It is hard for me to rent a separate apartment now, especially as I have to pay for my children’s schooling.



“I was preparing to rent a separate apartment this year, but with rent costs going up I have decided not to.



“With a large family living in the same house it's hard for me and my wife to control our lives.”



Hossam Moussa, a Palestinian who lives in Jeddah and works in the private sector, decided to live with his parents in their five-bedroom apartment after getting married.



He said: “Before getting married, I was planning to rent a separate apartment. I am paying for my parent’s apartment SR35,000 annually.



“If I decided to live separately then I will end up paying an additional SR25,000, which is too much.



“I was hoping to start a new life living separately with my wife but it is very difficult because of Jeddah’s rising rent prices.”



Hend Rady, an Egyptian housewife, was forced to move in with her parents after the landlord decided to raise the rent from SR15,000 to SR20,000. She said the decision was painful but her parents understood and did not object to the move.



She said: “I was living in a separate apartment but the landlord’s greed forced me and my husband out.



“There was no way we could pay SR20,000 annually in addition to school tuition and other expenses.



“I was lucky that my parents live in Jeddah because all my brothers are living back in Egypt.”



Rady said once she started living with her parents she did not have any privacy and has to be careful when she argues or disagrees with her husband.