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Demand for safe and regulated hostels in Yangon to house migrant workers from other states and regions in Myanmar is rising fast, according to U Nay Min Thu, managing director of iMyanmarHouse.com, which is the first website in the country to incorporate a search service for such lodgings.
“About 60 percent of all migrants in Yangon live in rented hostels. In fact, the hostel sector accounts for 30pc of the whole rental market,” said U Nay Min Thu.
Since the property portal first launched its hostel search service on August 6 up until August 20, some 300 hostel owners have placed rental advertisements on the website. These include home and apartment owners who have partitioned their properties into hostels or dormitories for rent.
During the same period, the owners received more than 10,000 enquiries about the rooms available for rent.
In Yangon, it is common for such rooms to consist of a small space just enough for a single mattress. These are rented out for as little as K20,000 per month. Bigger quarters can go for up to K60,000 per month.
Not what it seems
In Yangon, hostels are popular among migrant workers, many of whom draw the minimum wage. “For this group of people, finding private accommodation with easy access to transport and amenities is extremely challenging,” said U Nay Min Thu.
As a result, a rising number of hostels and dormitories have sprouted up in popular townships such as Lanmadaw, Latha, Kyauktada, Hledan and Myanigone.
Although dorms and hostels are affordable and conveniently located though, many are not legally registered and there are no benchmark standards or regulations on basic safety and hygiene.
Up until recently though, broker services for that segment of the property market was also non-existent. Available rooms were advertised on Facebook and it was common for the actual condition of the rooms to vary widely from the photos shown. A spacious-looking room on Facebook, for example, could turn out to be big enough for just one bed. Other rooms are dark and dirty and hostels are over-crowded and unsafe
U Nay Min Thu says he is planning to change that. All available rooms listed on the website will now be checked and reviewed by iMyanmarHouse.com, for example. It will also check if basic regulations and safety standards are put in place and if the owners have legal licenses to operate such premises.
Ref: Myanmar Times News
