Neither rule gets round the very real problem of inadequate incomes. If a landlord is to provide adequate and wellmaintained shelter, a certain level of rent has to be charged. If a tenant is to live in decent accommodation, a certain income has to be earned. The unfortunate feature of most cities in developing countries is that too many people earn very low incomes. In such circumstances rents are simultaneously too low and too high. Landlords do not receive enough to provide adequate accommodation or enough to keep their own families out of poverty. At the same time, tenants earning very low incomes are forced to pay a high proportion of their earnings in rent. The problem lies not in rent levels but with poverty