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Single workers find homes in Rawa Bebek
For low-income workers who happen to be singles, there are few housing options in the city
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For low-income workers who happen to be singles, there are few housing options in the city.
Many opt to rent a room in a boarding house near their workplace to save money, as high-rise apartments are often not affordable for them.
However, hundreds of working professionals have found a solution with a city-owned low-cost apartment (Rusunawa) complex located in North Jakarta.
The Rawa Bebek apartments, which border Bekasi, West Java, is a prime option for low-income singles with its
affordable monthly rent of Rp 460,000 (US$32.7) per apartment, excluding electricity and water bills. For couples, 26.4-square-meter studio rooms are available.
The apartments were built in 2016 under the administration of then-Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who has asked to be referred to as BTP from now on. His administration initially intended for the apartments to house laborers and evicted residents without a home.
Of the 14 Rawa Bebek apartment buildings, six are for singles while the remaining are for families. The complex is home to the city administration’s only apartments that were designed for singles.
Sale promoter Nurilda, 31, said she had been living in an apartment in Rawa Bebek with her friend for a year. She works at a mall in Bekasi and previously lived at a boarding house near her workplace, paying a monthly rent of Rp 500,000. However, Nurilda, who earns a monthly salary of Rp 4 million, and her friend decided to move to the apartment complex after discovering that it was cheaper than the boarding house.
“It’s cheaper, more comfortable and serene enough as it stands far from the main road. We can also install an air
conditioner in our apartment since the cost of electricity is separate from the rental fee,” Nurilda told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Nurilda told the Post that each apartment had one bunk bed, a table, a chair, a cabinet and a bathroom. There are also elevators and cafeterias at each building.
“They have all basic facilities here. Whenever I’m feeling too lazy to cook, I buy homemade foods at the cafeteria. It’s still affordable. You can get a meal for only Rp 12,000,” she said.
However, the Jakarta administration said it would no longer build apartments for singles.
Jakarta Housing and Settlement Agency officer Meli Budiastuti said the Rawa Bebek Rusunawa would be the only low-cost apartments that cater to singles in the city.
“We will only build apartment buildings for those with family members in the future because many of them still need houses in Jakarta,” she said.
The Rusunawa’s head, Asih Sumaretmi, said that although there were no kitchens inside the individual apartments, there was a terrace area where residents could cook and hang their laundry.
Each of the six buildings for singles came with 125 apartments, she said, adding that only four apartments were completely occupied, while 500 singles-only rooms were vacant.
The apartments are divided between men and women, with three buildings filled by men and one by women.
Asih expressed hope that more people would move in, while brushing off the notion that the location was not strategic.
“It is very close to Cakung Station and near AEON Mall,” she said.
Asih added that the apartments were also available for non-Jakarta singles, as long as they had KTPs (ID cards) and KKs (family cards).
There are no minimum income requirements, but new residents are expected to pay a deposit of Rp 1.4 million.
The residents, she said, were also given free Transjakarta rides from the apartment thanks to the city administration. (ggq)
