Mulugeta, Solomon (PhD)Walle, Gebeyaw2018-07-022023-11-192018-07-022023-11-192003-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/5410The two major types of housing tenures that exist in Ethiopia are owner-occupied and rental occupations. Within the rental occupation, Kebele rented housing units have been created since the coming of the Derg to power and the issuance of proclamation No. 47/1975 which brought about government ownership of urban land and extra houses. Since then, all government owned houses in the country, which have less than 100 Birr rent per month, are administered by Kebeles. However, due to old age and lack of maintenance, these Kebele rented dwelling units are deteriorating from time-to-time. Hence, the main objectives of this study are, to compare and contrast the existing conditions of owner-occupied and Kebele administered dwelling units in Bahir Dar, the capital city of the Amhara National Regional state and to recommend some possible measures that would help in the formulation of the national housing policies and strategies. In order to obtain the primary data necessary for the study, stratified and systematic random sampling techniques were used to carry out the questionnaire survey in the town. A total of 689 heads of the households were selected for the sample survey. The methods used to process and interpret the data obtained were percentages, cross tabulations, and mean values. The major findings of the study show that, the housing situation of the town is generally characterized by acute shortage which is manifested by a wide gap between housing supply and need; lower effective demand; sub-standard housing conditions; old age and lack of maintenance, especially most Kebele rented dwelling units; and lower rent price of Kebele rented housing units. The distribution of the population of Bahir Dar is such that maximum population concentration is found in the central part of the town, that is, in Kebele 06 containing 732 persons per hectare and the lowest population density is found in the intermediate and peripheral Kebeles, such as Kebeles, 03, 11, 13 and 16. In addition to population, the spatial distribution of dwelling units by type of housing tenure shows that, most Kebele rented dwelling units (71 percent) are found in the central part, whereas,nearly 80 percent of owner occupied housing units are found in the peripheral parts of the town. Even though most dwelling units in both owner occupied and Kebele administered rental accommodations are found in sub-standard conditions, the study has indicated that owner-occupied dwelling units are much better in terms of the major housing quality indicators, as compared to Kebele rented housing units in the town. In other words, Kebele administered dwelling units are more deteriorated than owner occupied housing units. Finally, the study has identified that, the major factors which influence the current housing conditions of owner occupied and Kebele rented dwelling units are: old age and lack of proper maintenance, particularly those of Kebele rented housing units; lower occupational and income status of most of the Kebele tenants; the impact of government housing policies; local physical, and political conditions of the town as well as migration. Therefore, to solve the existing housing problems, the government should formulate a comprehensive housing policy that would give due attention to rental units particularly to the Kebele administered rental dwelling units, which do not have any responsible body who look after themenGeography and Environmental StudiesThesis