The\nLandlord and Tenant Bill, 2018 has finally been passed, with the payment of\nrent in US dollars now being outlawed, coupled with a cap on the increment on\nrent fees allowable within a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nBill was passed following a lengthy sitting on Wednesday, 26 June 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Debate\non whether to allow the payment of rent in United States dollars or Uganda\nshillings raged for a long while, with some landlords being singled out for\nhabitual arbitrary increment of rental fees, and demanding that the same be\nsettled in US dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nthink we need to strengthen our currency\u2026we are advocating for a commitment\nthat we need to be consistent [in payments]; foreign currency in the market can\ndestabilise the market,\u201d said the Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives,\nAmelia Kyambadde. She too, like the majority of MPs, opposed the payment in US\ndollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nwas the letter and spirit of clause 23(2) of the Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll\nrent obligations or transactions shall be expressed, recorded and settled in\nthe shilling, unless otherwise provided under any enactment\u2026,\u201d partly read the\nclause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MPs\nGaster Kyawa Mugoya (NRM, Bukooli North County), Annet Nyakecho (IND, Tororo\nNorth County) and others voiced support for the proposal, which later carried\nthe day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According\nto the new law, increment of rent must not exceed 10 per cent in a given\nfinancial year, to hold the hand of callous landlords who are a pulse away from\nthrowing the extra financial burden on the troubled shoulders of tenants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nis provided under clause 27 (1) of the Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA\nlandlord shall not increase rent at a rate of more than 10 per cent annually or\nsuch other percentage as may be prescribed by the Minister by statutory\ninstrument,\u201d notes the provision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sub\nclause 2 requires a 90 days\u2019 notice to be issued to the tenant in respect of\nany increments, and silence may imply that the rent as charged is agreeable to\nthe tenant in question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also\nsalient in the Bill is the issue of payment of utilities, a responsibility\nwhich has unequivocally been rested on the shoulders of the tenants under\nclause 12 (1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\npayment of rent starting from Shs500,000, a written agreement shall be\nrequired, whose terms shall comply with the provisions of this Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evictions\nare now a matter that will be executed with court orders, and will require six\nmonths prior notice, and failure to observe the same could land a landlord in\njail or loss of income equivalent to three months of the rental income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Court\nmay as well decide to issue sentences to an offender who in this case could\nsuffer both jail and a fine as stipulated in the Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another\nprovision in the Bill is the empowerment of local council courts, which, if the\nlegislation is finally assented to by the President, will give it the latitude\nto hear and determine disputes to higher than Shs2 million in value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Annoyance\nof tenants by landlords or their agents has also been defined and declared to\nbe an offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nState Minister for Housing, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, cited rudeness of landlords,\ninaccessible, unapproachable and deliberate actions to force tenants to vacate\npremises as constituting annoyance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nHouse agreed that \u201ca landlord or his or agent who willfully subjects a tenant\nto any annoyance with intention of inducing or compelling the tenant to vacate\nthe premises or to directly or indirectly pay higher rent commits an offence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nState Finance Minister for General Duties, Hon. Gabriel Ajedra\u2019s attempts to\nsway the House against passing the Bill in its current form met stiff\nopposition from the House, including members of the Cabinet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2018 has finally been passed, with the payment of rent in US dollars now being outlawed, coupled with a cap on the increment on rent fees allowable within a year. The Bill was passed following a lengthy sitting on Wednesday, 26 June 2019. Debate on whether to allow the payment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":9895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n