Credit - UNICEF
Tenants with children find it hard to secure accommodation in Gwanda as landlords set tough conditions.
Gwanda: Nomzamo Mloyi (30), after seeing an advert for accommodation in a local WhatsApp group, she proceeded to view the house. Being a single mother of two young girls, she was happy to find a place to call home after securing a job in Gwanda town. In her turn of events, she was told that the room was available on the condition that she would not come along with the children.
“It was a shock. I further searched. As I continued searching, I found out that most of the adverts in the WhatsApp groups provide rental accommodation for single persons or couples without children as tenants. I had to take my children to my mother in the village,” explained Mloyi.
Most of the tenants in Gwanda are forced to separate from their children in order to meet the requirements. Not all landlords subscribe to these unwritten rules. However, the majority have fallen for the trend.
Landlords against tenants with children allege that the ‘little ones’ destroy property and cause a lot of noise; hence, they are not welcome. Most parents are now forced to leave their children in the custody of grandparents or relatives in the villages.
However, according to the Gwanda Progressive Residents Association, the problem runs deeper. The association’s chairperson, Collect Moyo, acknowledged the growing trend and called it “a serious social concern.”
“While property owners have the right to manage their assets, such policies indirectly discriminate against families with children,” he said. “We urge landlords to balance property maintenance concerns with tenants’ rights and dignity.”
While speaking to this publication, Mary Ndlovu, one of the rental property owners, said she used to take in tenants with children. After incurring losses in property destruction and renovations because of tenants’ children, she is no longer interested.
“Some children would play rubbing walls, throwing balls or stones on windows, or even banging doors,” explains Ndlovu. “I incurred a lot of costs in painting walls, fixing damaged doors, and broken windows.”
Ndlovu, however, continued to say that she allows children to visit on intervals. She thinks that the policy is the only solution to achieve peace in rented properties.
“This has worked, at least for now,” said Ndlovu.
Caught on the horns of dilemma, Mloyi had to decide whether to continue living in Bulawayo, unemployed or take up a new job in Gwanda and give to her mother her two girls.
With the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe, securing a job was the greatest achievement for Mloyi, but it cost her the joys of motherhood. Her mother, Sibongile Ncube (75), now bears the burden of raising Mloyi’s children.
Eight-year-old Pamela and 5-year-old Thelma has been stripped of their right to a proper family at such a tender age. They have grown to bond with their mother over the phone. Mloyi sometimes visits them.
Meanwhile, Tatenda Moyo (25) and husband Thembani Mdlongwa (30) have been doing rounds in search of accommodation without success. Moyo said that all the available houses are strict on the child-free policy, and hence, they refuse to separate from their four-year-old son.
“We would rather continue living with my in-laws than miss out on raising our child. We are a small family, and we need one another. Until we get a proper accommodation, we move out,” said Moyo.
Human rights experts say the practice violates both national and international obligations Zimbabwe has committed to.
According to Section 81 of the Zimbabwean Constitution, every child has the right to family and parental care. Denying families accommodation based on the presence of children effectively infringes on that right.
“Landlords who exclude children are not just creating social inconvenience; they are violating fundamental human rights,” said Tsitsi Masengure, a Harare-based children’s rights lawyer and programs officer at Justice for Children. “Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Article 9 specifically protects the child’s right to live with their parents unless separation is necessary for the child’s welfare. Economic convenience is not a lawful reason for forced separation.”
UNICEF, outlining the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), stresses that children thrive best in a family environment where they receive love, care, and support, which is crucial for their emotional and social development.
Grace Ndlovu, a child rights activist in Gwanda with Lesego Memorial Trust, said the state must do more to protect families from housing-based discrimination.
“What is happening in Gwanda is a silent human rights crisis,” Ndlovu said. “When mothers like Nomzamo are forced to choose between housing and their children, the system has failed them. This is indirect discrimination against women and children, and it normalises poverty as a justification for exclusion.”
One of the landlords, Agnes Mlilo, said she does not rent out rooms at her property, as she wants to maintain all facilities on her own.
“I have two extra rooms, but I use one of them as a storeroom and the other one for guests. I have seen landlords struggling with tenants, and I am afraid to let in one.”
As Zimbabwe nears 35 years since ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, stories like Mloyi’s are a reminder that rights are not only violated in war or by the state, but also in the quiet decisions of everyday life.
Economist Pedzisai Dube notes that these policies reflect a deeper structural issue.
“The housing shortage, unemployment, and lack of social protection systems all combine to appear rational,” Dube explained. “But it’s not rational; it’s exploitative. When housing becomes a privilege instead of a right, children become the first casualties.”
Tenants in Gwanda remain concerned about the social injustice to renting parents and the suppression of children’s rights.
When reached out to comment on the issue, the Municipality of Gwanda said they have not received a formal complaint but promised to look into the issue.
