Renting in The Gambia has increasingly become more challenging for many residents, with skyrocketing rental costs and poor living conditions leaving tenants in difficult situation. 

As of 2021, The Gambia faced a high housing deficit exceeding 128, 874 units, intensifying competition and driving up rental cost.

However, in response to this housing crisis, The Gambia government has initiated a housing project aiming to construct 10,000 houses by December 2025, with a broader goal of 200,000 over the next decade.

But there is a group who bear the brunt of these challenges, the tenants, many of whom live from hand-to-mouth.

Kawsu Badjie, is one of such tenants facing a housing crisis in the country. Despite paying 3,000 dalasis every month, Badjie endured years of renting torment.  His landlord repeatedly raised the rent, violating rental laws.

“Where I was renting, the landlord would just wake up, and increase the rent. The toilet was in poor condition, and when we asked him to fix it, he refused,” he said.

Lamin Manneh, is another tenant enduring similar difficulties. He explained: “I face many challenges with renting because the rent I am charged exceeds my income. I’m struggling to feed my family while being forced to pay a huge monthly fee.”

In 2024, The Gambia’s parliament passed a rental bill into law, aiming to regulate rental practices, ensuring fair agreements between landlords and tenants.

By Adama Makasuba

Read our editorial on the Gambia’s unregulated rent market here.