The Effect of Living in Rental House on the Household Welfare: Evidence from Ethiopian News Agency’s Employees

This study used cross-sectional data from Ethiopian News Agency employees to examine the effect of living in a rental house on household welfare. The data were obtained from 134 households (67 of which were renters and 67 of which were owners). The households were classified as poor or non-poor based on the poverty line, which was established by the World Bank for household expenditure. Descriptive and binary logistic regression were employed in the study to assess the effects. The finding of the study demonstrated that the average monthly household food and nonfood expenditure per adult, possession of essential household material, consuming a variety of foods, and room occupancy status of a house renter are significantly low compared to house owner-employees. The probability of living below the poverty line is more than twice as high for renter households compared to homeowner households. 33% of the studied employees who are living in rented houses are considered to be living under poverty shelter. The result of the binary logistic regression also showed that living house, household size, and dependency ratio negatively affect the household welfare status, while marital status, age, income, and saving positively affect household welfare. The study suggests several recommendations for the government, including expanding the number of housing construction projects, providing subsidies to home builders, empowering mortgage banks for constructing public housing, and also enacting and implementing policy for setting and managing rental houses.