This percentage, which in the fiscal 1983-84 dropped to 12% despite the Iran-Iraq War and tough economic conditions, has now reached about 40% for the whole country and 50% for Tehran. This means that all the policies and measures employed in the housing sector during the past four decades have been useless. The remarks were made by Nasser Zakeri, an economist, in an article for the Persian daily Shargh. A translation of the text follows:
The increase in the tenant population and the spread of urban poverty, following the rapid increase in rents, have forced the authorities to take measures to manage the rental housing market. Undoubtedly, this necessary and important decision was an acknowledgment of the failure of their housing policies and the result of ignoring Article 31 of the Iranian Constitution. The article requires the government to protect and support the inalienable right of citizens, i.e., to have a place to live in accordance with their needs.