JAFFNA - Land and rentals in Sri Lanka’s main northern town of Jaffna town have soared in recent times due to demand from Colombo-based companies and the Tamil Diaspora.
For example, one perch of land in Jaffna town is going at a million rupees, close to market rates in the near-suburbs of Colombo. Residents said that a Tamil expatriate recently bought land near the clock tower road at this price.
In suburbs like Nallur and Thirunevely, land is trading at Rs 400,000 per perch or Rs 4 million per ‘parappu’. Land in Jaffna is calculated by the ‘parappu’ measurement. Residents complain that Colombo-based finance companies and business enterprises are paying exorbitantly high housing rent or big money for the land to establish their business in Jaffna.
Rent for a typical 3-bedroom house with one common bathroom fetches Rs 20.000 per month. With attached bathrooms, the rent could go upto Rs 50.000. The rate for a simple annex is Rs 10.000 in the town. Middle class displaced people from Valikamam north are badly affected by this increase.
During the war, many residents left Jaffna and settled in Colombo or went abroad, leaving their houses for displaced people without any rent payment. Now these residents are selling their lands or giving their houses on rent for business purposes. Some owners have turned their homes into guest houses for visitors from the south.
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