The Empty Building

The Empty Houses

Not only a few of Indonesians who don’t have a proper house. In Yogyakarta, the place where I live, there are several people who sleep inside the cart because they are homeless. Sometimes they sleep at the overhang of the store, but where can they stay if they don't have a home? While on the other hand, many people left their homes or buildings to be left neglected.

When I tried to find a new boarding house in Yogyakarta, I saw many houses or buildings that had been left but still standing. There are many houses that are not habitable and some are still in good condition. The empty houses which have good condition are commonly left by the owner so that look spooky and empty. However, buildings that have been neglected and are not habitable, usually the owner has a new house and no one takes care of the old house. In fact, the building will break on its own.

Indeed in Indonesia, every person who has a house is obliged to pay land and building taxes. However, the authorities pay little attention to whether the building is still habitable or not. Supposedly, if there is a house which is not inhabited or has been left, it is better to demolish the building because the empty house may give bad impacts in the surrounding. The following is the impact of the existence of empty and neglected buildings:

1. The building can collapse on its own

Old buildings will be dangerous for the surrounding environment, because the building's physical condition starts to become fragile. At times the building could collapse on its own. In fact, the building could collapse about the surrounding houses. It can also be about people around the house.

2. Buildings can be used as a place of crime

Empty buildings are very likely to be used as a place to commit crimes because they are very quiet and not so much noticed around. Many incidents such as murder, robbery, confinement, and rape are carried out in empty buildings. Maybe it can also be used for drug transactions.

3. Goods inside the building can be stolen

If a house is abandoned without carrying goods, it will cause the thief's desire to enter and steal the goods. This happened in April 2019 in the Mataram sewer area where I live. When my friend left, he did not bring his belongings or rent his house, so the thief entered and stole a TV.

4. Buildings can be a nest of dangerous wild animals

Builds that have long been neglected, will be overgrown with many plants and look very lush. This attracts wild animals to enter inside, such as snakes, monitor lizards, and dengue fever mosquitoes. These animal animals endanger the surrounding environment if they bite people who live around.

It must be a lot of reason behind that phenomenon which is happened in Yogyakarta. To find out the reasons, the writer already interviewed six Javanese people who are living in Yogyakarta to get the valid data. Four of them said that they want to have the new home separated from their parents. They want to learn how to build their new family without depending on their parents. Trying to solve the problems with the new family is good for the new couple. The new couple will grow mature and develop together in the new family without a lot of parents’ intercession. In some cases, if there is more than one family live together in a house, they will talk behind their back. It makes the new family members don’t feel comfortable. Then, the participants also said that living with the new family in a new home it proofs that they are already success. One of the participants said that she wants to live with her mom letter because her mom is a single mother. So, she wants to take care of her mother. Another one, she also wants to lie with her parents because she wants to take care of them in the future when they are getting old and need someone to depend on.  

Moreover, to minimize the increase of empty houses, as the new couple should be open-minded and pay attention to the future plan. They should think about where they want to live, with whom they want to live, and don’t forget to think about their parents. Don’t let your house become empty and useless because there are many people need places to live in.

Actually, my family also has two empty houses that are not inhabited. Both of those belong to my grandparents. The children decided to live with their own family, that’s why the houses are empty after my grandparents passed away. So, to make sure there is nothing bad happens in those houses we visit the house every week. If you don't have time to visit it, it's better to pay someone to take care of the house so that the four bad things above happen. Another way, you might rent your house to others who don’t have a home because a lot of people outside who need a home to take shelter, but they don’t have. Don’t leave your house in an empty condition because a house also needs to be taken care of. One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home –Pam Brown-