Abstract :
Women outnumber men as landlords among the urban poor living in the self-help housing areas in Gaborone, Botswana and as such they are important producers of scarce, much needed rental accommodation. Low rates of male participation are somewhat perplexing as landlordism is actually quite a profitable business in Gaborone. This paper is arranged around three broad aims. The first is to identify factors which encourage the participation of women in landlordism as well as analysing why more men do not let rooms. Secondly, the paper sets out to locate the sources of finance open to women and men for the construction of rooms, the scale at which they operate and the management of the rental property. Lastly the relationship between landlords and their tenants will be examined.
