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The Impact of COVID-19 on Petty Landlords in Delhi, India: Caste, Gender and Urban Villages

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  • Ajay Kumar Gautam

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Abstract

COVID-19 presented unparalleled difficulties for financially disadvantaged renters, limiting their ability to pay for housing. The impact of this crisis on petty landlords, who often provide housing to these precarious renters, is unclear and requires investigation. Utilising data from a survey of 300 households, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with 100 petty landlords, primarily first-generation Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Class (OBC) owners, this case study examines the effects of the pandemic on petty landlords in urban villages in Delhi, India. The findings highlight the sedimentation of caste in informal rental market spaces: Firstly, it highlights the role of caste-based socio-economic factors in the emergence of petty landlords in relation to dominant caste landlords. Secondly, it examines the circumstances that led to financial strain among marginalised caste landlords during the pandemic and explores how their responses to this stress worsened existing housing challenges for vulnerable tenants. Thirdly, the study reveals that gender also played a significant role in shaping the experiences of petty landlords, with women outnumbering men as proxy landlords in this group. Lastly, the paper explores how state imposed eviction interventions brought the complexities of caste, class, gender and urban marginality to the forefront.

Suggested Citation

  • Ajay Kumar Gautam, 2024. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Petty Landlords in Delhi, India: Caste, Gender and Urban Villages," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 67(4), pages 1159-1175, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:67:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s41027-024-00526-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-024-00526-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cowan, Thomas, 2018. "The urban village, agrarian transformation, and rentier capitalism in Gurgaon, India," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89699, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    5. Jeemol Unni, 2020. "Impact of COVID-19 on Informal Economy: The Revival," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(1), pages 113-118, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Petty landlords; Caste; Urban villages; Rental economy; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns

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