No Houses for Foreigners in Yangon

"As Burma opens up to international businesses, more and more foreigners are moving to Yangon to work and live."

As Burma opens up to international businesses, more and more foreigners are moving to Yangon to work and live.

But strict housing laws regarding registration of non-citizens that date back to colonial times are still applied.

This means renting out property is a complicated process and some property owners are reluctant to face the risks that come with it.

David Ney is as a housing advisor in Yangon.  He has been living in the city for 3 years, and has seen the demand for accommodation grow as an increasing number of foreigners move in. 

“I don’t think the supply is changing a lot, I don’t think that the places are coming up fast enough to accommodate for the number of foreigners moving in looking for places. I think that there is a large mass of accommodation that has just gone unrented.”

Many in Myanmar bought housing to preserve money after the country suffered several demonetizations of the currency under military rule.

And some of these home owners would rather leave a place empty than to go through any financial risk by renting to foreigners

“We’ve had people come with the money in hand, I myself had my money in my hand when I first arrived and four or five times I had my bags packed waiting on the street for the process to go through and my agent was saying to me, I’m sorry they refuse to rent to foreigners.”

When Paul Minoletti started looking for a new house he found himself in a similar situation.

“The broker showed me around and it was a nice place so we agreed on the price and then said ok,” he recalls.

“So I went to the bank and then changed all my money so I could pay like a year’s rent upfront. And then when I got there the broker was like, oh the landlady has spoken to her lawyer, because that landlord had never had foreigners staying at her properties before, so he said the landlord has spoken to her lawyer and her lawyer has advised her not to have a foreigner because it’s very expensive and very time consuming, was what he told her anyway.”

Many homeowners see renting to foreigners in Myanmar as higher risk and more hassle than renting to locals.  Laws dating back to colonial times, including the foreigners registration act of 1940, mean that renting to foreigners is a complicated process. 

Several different documents and forms need to be copied, filled in, verified and taken to four different levels of authorities before a foreigner can legally reside in a building not already licensed for foreigners.

And it is difficult to do it alone.

“You need someone to be able to go through this process for you, whether it is a Burmese friend who can either stand in line or walk into these offices, or an agent or a kind housing owner who’s willing to take this on, and some housing owners are.  Some housing owners are very kind, saying that if you want to live in their house then they will do the process for you, but a lot of times housing owners just don’t want to go through it because it takes hours.”

And they’re also worried about the repercussions if there is a problem. 

The registration process has to be done every time a foreigner enters the country and many worry that they will be punished instead if not done correctly.

“The house owner is really at risk, so he will be some warning by the authority or some punishment by the administrative procedure,” says lawyer Kyaw Min San.

But not all townships deal with the issue as strictly that. In some areas homeowners have bought property specifically to rent to foreigners at the inflated prices they can now charge.

And the absence of rule of law in Myanmar means people are still testing the water.

“I think maybe there should be a new law and also abolishing the outdated law. But in practice I do not hear about any action being taken against the foreigners, in the present time after 2012.  It’s a really relaxing situation.”

After a few weeks Paul was able to find a place he could live but it took some time to find the perfect place.

“There had already been loads of places where I’d been told by the people downstairs or by brokers that the apartment was free but then they said, oh foreigners can’t stay there, the landlords are afraid to have foreigners stay there basically.”

Changes in Myanmar are happening fast but many are still scared of being punished under the old system, while old laws remain in place, says David.

“I don’t think the owners are fully aware of the legal standing, I don’t think that the brokers are fully aware of the legal standing.  I think that they’re more aware than someone coming in off the street but I don’t think that it’s really clear for anyone.”

The law needs to change or local property owners need to be reassured by authorities that they can rent to foreigners now without fear of reprisals. 

• Burma housing for foreigners
• Burma house in Yangon
• political change in Burma