Families resorting to joining houses to tackle skyrocketing bills in Istanbul

Families have been resorting to joining houses to tackle skyrocketing utility bills in Istanbul. The move has turned into a strategy to make a living, Esra Huri Bulduk from the Istanbul Planning Agency said.

Monday December 27 2021 03:44 pm

Duvar English

Families in Istanbul have been resorting to joining houses to tackle skyrocketing living expenses and bills, Istanbul Planning Agency General Coordinator Esra Huri Bulduk has said.

Bulduk said that the cost of living has increased by 50.18 percent compared to last year and that the price hikes in basic goods, electricity and natural gas have been pushing families to join their households.

"Families are trying to get through these days by acting with solidarity," Bulduk told the daily BirGün on Dec. 27.

According to Bulduk, electricity and natural gas bills are the expenses that push families' limits the most. Some 1.5 million people saw their electricity cut off by providers, while 674,000 families were deprived of natural gas due to being unable to pay their bills, she said.

The conditions that families are living in are deteriorating day by day, Bulduk said, adding that some families are moving to smaller houses in order to decrease their bills and solve the heating problem.

"We saw that some families changed their houses frequently and moved to neighborhoods with less rent," she said, adding that the quality of their living decreased as a result.

Poverty and unemployment, as well as off-the-charts inflation, have been pushing Turkish people to find solutions to make a living. ANKA News Agency reported on Dec. 26 that Turks suffering from poverty are collecting vegetables and fruits thrown away by sellers at marketplaces.