A family that owns more than 1,000 rental rooms has agreed to increase monthly rates by $5 per month for the next three months – rather than the $10 considered – after some 100 garment workers protested in the capital on Sunday and Monday.

The protests took place in Por Sen Chey district’s Chaom Chao commune after the family attempted to raise rents by $10 per room per month.

The workers had been protesting since Sunday, calling on the owners not to increase fees. They said they could not afford any increase, even after their base salary was increased to $182 per month.

Following the protests, local authorities intervened and the family reached a compromise with the workers.

Bun Makara, one of the property owners, told The Post on Tuesday that the family had postponed any further increase for three more months, and agreed to only increase rent by $5.

He said that following Monday’s successful negotiations, he will now release a notification to the workers informing them of the agreement.

But he said that if any did not accept the compromise, they would have to find other accommodation.

“We haven’t increased our rental rates for seven years, even after the price of nearby rental rooms increased, because we followed [Prime Minister] Hun Sen’s guidance not to do so.

“Even though we are putting the rent up a bit, our fees are still the cheapest available. If the workers cannot stay with us, we cannot force them to – we will give them three months to find a new place,” Makara said.

He said his family rents out almost 1,000 rooms, with fees ranging from $20 to $40 per month per room based on room size and standard.

The small increase, he said, will go towards hiring additional supervisors, security guards and cleaners, and will enable the owners to provide additional features.

Chaom Chao commune chief Kang Vong told The Post on Tuesday that he had spoken with the workers and asked them to remain patient and wait for the results of the negotiations.

He said the outcome was good news for them and he hoped they would accept the deal.

“If the workers continue to protest then we will still try to help them, but I think they should compromise because the owners have never increased rents before and their rates are lower than others in the area,” Vong said.

A garment worker who gave his name only as Sambath and has lived there for more than two years, told The Post that the workers would accept the deal. However, he said that even though his salary had increased, he would still face difficulties meeting daily living expenses.

“If the rent goes up too much, I won’t be able to afford it. I barely have enough money as it is. I only ask that if they do increase our rent, please keep it reasonable,” he said.