To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing this because I have to say something. How are we supposed to live?

Majority of people in Antigua do not even make enough money to rent somewhere for $1500 EC, much less more than that. Minimum wage is what, $9-something an hour? Do the math. After you pay food, light bill, bus fare, children school things, what is left to pay $1500, $1800, $2300 for rent?

It’s heartbreaking. It feels like landlords are comparing us to prices overseas. They want US dollar rent, but we are not making US dollar salary. We are making EC dollars on an Antiguan minimum wage, but they want us to pay rent like we living in Miami.

And even when they say light and water included, it’s capped! So you still have to pay. They will say $200 cap and anything over that you paying extra, so it’s not really included at all.

And if it IS included, you seeing rent prices like $4,050 for a 2 bedroom. $4,050!

They think because they add yard maintenance and air conditioning and furniture, that allows them to price the rent so high.

But remember, somebody is renting. When they leave they not walking with the furniture, they not walking with the AC, they not walking with the fridge. It’s still your house and your things. That’s why the deposit is there. The deposit is there to ensure if and only if something is destroyed, the owner can keep it. So why charge so high every single month for furniture that stays?

They add in all amenities and think it gives them a reason to charge crazy prices.

But at the end of the day, we just need a regular place to live.

Instead of catering to our own people, we are renting for visitors. Everywhere you look it’s AirBnB, AirBnB, AirBnB. A one bedroom, unfurnished, no washer, no nothing, and they want $2,300. Like how? How is a young person, a single mother, a regular working person supposed to afford that?

We are Antiguans but we can’t afford to live in Antigua anymore. Our own people are being pushed out because the houses are for tourists and not for us.

It’s just madness.

Yours sincerely,

A concerned Antiguan

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: OPEN LETTER – The Rent Crisis in Antigua.