Agents warn soaring prices, short-term lets lock Bajans out of rental market

By Lourianne Graham

Barbados is facing its worst rental housing shortage in decades, with a surge in short-term holiday lets and rising demand from overseas tenants pushing affordable accommodation beyond the reach of most Barbadians, according to real estate agents interviewed by Barbados TODAY.

Daryl Gill, owner of Timeless Properties, said the rental landscape has changed dramatically since the introduction of the Welcome Stamp programme and the rapid growth of Airbnb listings.

“In terms of what has happened recently since 2021, well, since we have opened our market to the Welcome Stamp and Airbnb, there is a serious lack of housing for local persons,” Gill said. “There’s hardly anything on the market within $1 000 – $1 200. You could barely find anything under $2 500 for a rental right now.”

He explained that growing competition from foreign renters and property owners converting long-term rentals into furnished short-term units have made it almost impossible for low- to middle-income earners to find affordable accommodation.

“What would happen four years ago — a two-bedroom, onebathroom apartment that you could have gotten for $1 000 — the owner may now furnish it and ask $2 000 to cater to either the Welcome Stamp or Airbnb,” Gill said. “There’s literally nothing that caters to the local market or even persons who may be of a lower income bracket.”

Regional migrants from Dominica and Jamaica are also struggling to secure housing due to high prices and limited choice, he added. “We don’t have enough rental properties or housing to accommodate that,” he said, adding that “there is a serious rental crisis in Barbados as it relates to local persons, and no one is really taking note of that.”

He argued that while initiatives like the Welcome Stamp remote work visa programme bring foreign exchange, “we have to see what it’s costing — how it’s impacting our local Barbadians. If you are a newly married couple, currently there’s nothing on the market for a young couple to move out of their parents’ home to go and rent anywhere for $900 or $1 000.”

Gill also noted that even middle-income families are under pressure. “I have a family right now… they’re down to a singleincome family, but they can’t move anywhere because there’s nothing cheaper on the market,” he said. “And even if they can move, they can’t afford to move because landlords want first, last, and security — that’s three months’ rent.”

Real Estate Agent Kirt Trotman described the shortage as “very difficult”.

“It got worse in the last three years or so,” he said. “There’s a lack of properties, especially in a certain price bracket, ranging from anywhere from $900 to $1 600. That bracket is pretty nonexistent at this point.”

While overcrowding does occur, Trotman noted that most agents and landlords try to prevent it.

He also responded to claims that landlords’ vetting processes are too strict. “I won’t say that,” Trotman stated. “The laws of Barbados are on the tenant’s side. The landlord tries [his] best to protect himself… The process generally is not that stringent.

You have to show pay slips, job letters, and in some cases a bank statement — just to see that there’s some kind of income coming in.”

Another industry professional confirmed that “there is a shortage on island”, attributing it partly to the Welcome Stamp and the dominance of holiday rentals.

“I think with the [Welcome] Stamp, a lot of them have utilised those listings,” she said. “There are some, but it’s not a vast set of options to choose from, especially in the lower-end budgets.”

She added that Airbnb listings often remove potential longterm rentals from the market. “They strictly want weeks at a time — at a higher rate,” she explained.

As Barbados continues to draw digital nomads and shortterm visitors, real estate agents agree that urgent policy action is needed to ensure local renters are not completely priced out of the market.

Gill summed it up bluntly: “Every year, the ability for a local Barbadian to get a property is going further and further out of reach. Most developers are catering to the outside market… We really need to rethink this before more locals are left without somewhere to live.”

louriannegraham@barbadostoday.bb