Modern-Day Feudal System in the Making

Uncontrolled instabilities in the economy, particularly in the rental housing market, are accelerating Iran’s descent into a new form of feudalism, Nasser Zakeri, an economic analyst, says in a write-up for the Persian daily Shargh. A translation of the text follows: 
Official statistics show 26.6% of Iranian households lived in rented homes in the fiscal 2011-12. The figure increased to 30.7% in the fiscal 2016-17 and those in charge recently put the percentage of those living in rented places at 40%. 
These figures do not indicate the financial status of households or the rate of homeownership because despite having their own residential property, a small number of people prefer to rent a place in another neighborhood for economic or social reasons. The method of calculating the percentage of renters and its accuracy, announced by former deputy minister of roads and urban development, is questionable. However, these figures reveal the extent of the housing problem: A large number of households are deprived of having a suitable house and this group is getting bigger by the day; the growth rate in the number of tenants is also increasing.