From Zero Savings to Families in Trouble

People from the lower social strata who are lured into buying a house often become mired in trouble. Instead of getting a dream house, all their savings are lost and their families’ lives are at stake.

KOMPAS/FRD

Eem (43) was seen drawing a pattern of clothes at his boarding house in the Tambora area, West Jakarta on Sunday (19/9/2021). Eem is one of the victims of housing default in Bogor.

In a room measuring 3 meters by 4 meters at a rooming house in the Tambora area of West Jakarta, Eem (43) spoke about the difficulty she experienced in finding a decent house in the nation’s capital. She added that she had moved to three rooming houses in Tambora in the past two years.

At a monthly rent of Rp 1 million, Eem must settle for a small room. The rooming house where she currently lives is located on a narrow alley. The stifling atmosphere of the room prompted Eem to install both an air-conditioner and a wall-mounted fan. "There are many problems. My first rooming house was so hot, [and] the use of water was also limited. I moved after that, but I had a noisy neighbor so I couldn\'t sleep," she said on Sunday (9/19/2021).