jordan pulse -
The number of refugee families in Jordan who are unable to pay their rent has increased, amid a decline in humanitarian assistance provided that refugee families mainly depend on.
A report on the “Social and Economic Situation of Refugees in Jordan” conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the fourth quarter of 2023, indicated that 13% of refugees do not use any source of heating.
81% of Syrian refugee families rely on gas heaters as a source of heating, compared to 46% of non-Syrian refugees who relied on gas heaters.
The report pointed out that the percentage of families unable to pay the rent increased from 41% in the second quarter of 2023 to 51% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The average rent expenses are about 140 dinars per month UNHCR The assessment showed that 55% of the families excluded from the cash assistance for basic needs provided by the Commission were unable to pay the rent, and 44% of them received a threat of eviction in the last quarter of 2023.
48% of the participants in the assessment who receive cash assistance reported that they were unable to pay the rent in the third quarter of 2023, while 40% received a threat of eviction during the period covered by the report.
5% of refugee families live in homes without electricity UNHCR The average expenditure of refugee families was 26 Jordanian dinars on electricity bills and 11 Jordanian dinars on water bills per month.
The threat of eviction
The assessment showed an increase in refugee families receiving a threat of eviction by 2% for Syrian refugees and 6% for non-Syrian refugees, in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of the same year.
The assessment collects information from refugee families to assess the differences at the family level across several sectors, including the economic situation, food security, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene and health, and the sample included 3696 families, representing about 18809 individuals from refugees.
The assessment indicated that 91% of Syrian refugee families and 87% of non-Syrian refugee families are burdened with debt.
23% of refugee family heads suffer from a disability or chronic disease that affects daily life UNHCR Jordan hosts 55329 thousand Iraqi refugees registered with the Commission, and more than 1.3 million Syrians since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, including 642888 Syrian refugees registered with the Commission, and the Commission says that 717466 refugees registered with it from all nationalities except Palestinian refugees who belong to UNRWA, until February 18 of the current year.