Young Life in Freetown | Landlords and Tenants

Mr. John Brewa owns a five-unit apartment building in the Allen Town district of the capital Freetown. Mr. Brewa and his family live in one unit and he’s been renting the other four since 2010. Each apartment has three bedrooms, a sitting room, a bathroom, and a kitchen.

Since the local council doesn’t collect trash for each residence, Mr. Brewa’s tenants dispose of their own garbage. Once a week, the children cart everything to a dumpsite.

Everyone has to fetch water from wells or standpipes. During the dry season, people oftentimes get water from streams.

Sahr Matturi of the Water and Sanitation Media Network said Allen Town, which is about thirteen miles from the capital city, is divided into two halves.

“In the lower part of Allentown, most of the residents are unable to access pipe-borne water. In the dry season, lots of people move [around] with rubber gallons in search of drinking water,” he said.

Mr. Brewa rents finished apartments for 300,000 Leones and unfinished ones go from 200, 000 Leones. One of Mr. Brewa's tenants explained that during her first year, Mr. Brewa didn’t collect any rent.


Mrs. Sebatu Koroma said getting a house in Freetown is difficult. She has lots of trouble with her landlord. Mrs. Koroma said he would sometimes come around shouting, reminding them the house is not theirs.  Mrs. Koroma sells pepper cake to pay her rent yearly and take care of her kids. Their father is away.

Mr. Sama, who's a media officer in some company in town, told us that, his landlord is cruel. He said most of his fellow tenants complain a lot.

The director of the Tenants and Landlords Welfare Organization, Mr. Nikolas, said tenants facing problems should go to their office at Kissy Road, opposite the Limba church, in Freetown. He explained that, when one gets there, he or she would have to buy an application form at Le100, 000, and fill out the necessary information. He also said the tenant would have to say whether they want help with finding another place or a lawyer. Mr. Nikolas said they also place calls to landlords and remind them of a tenant’s rights.  In more serious cases, landlords can be charged with the crimes leveled against him.

“It's simple and straightforward,” Mr. Nikolas said. “Throughout the process, you wouldn't have to give out any money other than the 100, 000 leone paid for the form,” he said.

He also said that they've been working in Bo and Kenema for eight years. This year they're setting up an office in Freetown. He said many people in the capital haven't heard about their services because they've only just extended their operations to the city. Hopefully, he said they're going to let the Freetown public know about the services they offer through advertising and other ways. He's certain if all works out well, there'll be no more cases of landlords suppressing their tenants.

For Young Life in Freetown, I'm Inyilla Conteh reporting