By Sarah Aanyu
Most people seem shocked when asked if they would rent out their houses to be used for a function more so if it’s from a non-family member. It is however a more common occurrence if it is a relative’s house a person wants to use for one reason or another. Whichever case it maybe, renting a house is mostly a hard decision since it involves many parties, all with conflicting interests and fears.
Sheila Ssanyu has a home with a spectacular compound. She says she once met a lady who approached her requesting to use her home for an introduction ceremony with a valid reason. The lady requested to use only one of the bedrooms, the living room and kitchen. All Ssanyu had to do was to put away whatever she deemed valuable from those rooms. Ssanyu was understanding and willing to help but her husband was against the idea.
“My husband had many reasons not to rent out the home which caused a heated debate between us because I personally saw no problem with helping a fellow woman make her day colourful but to him, there was a lot that could go wrong,” says Ssanyu.
She further says he could not rent it out because the house was meant to be a residential area and not a hotel that someone can rent out for a function.
Differing from Ssanyu, Leah Amidiong says about six years back, she rented a house to have her daughter’s introduction ceremony because their house was incomplete and they could not have her in-laws go there. She says the way you present yourselves as a family is what determines how your child will be treated in her in-law’s home and therefore, people should make an effort when it comes to these functions.
“We decided to ask our neighbour if he could let us use his home just for a day, something he readily accepted because we were family friends and prayed from the same church. All he wanted from us was to make sure that we left his house in good shape,” says Amidiong.
They were left to use the house as they wished. The only thing that was destroyed was the grass on the compound because it rained and people danced all over it so by the end of the function, the grass was gone. Amidiong paid some little money for the damage and with time, the compound was filled with grass again.
Even then, Stanley Okiror says having people use your home for functions enables even the wrong people to have access to your home and get to know the entire map of your house.
“They may not affect their plans right there but will wait for some time and easily find their way to your home because they already know where to pass,” says Okiror.
He argues that a home is supposed to be a private place and having it rented out will make it lose its original splendour because, after one function, you will keep on getting people who want to use it hence turning it into a commercial place.
He further says at the end you will incur more costs when there is any damage because at some point there are things you cannot tell people to replace.
