New Rent Control Law signed
The bill that aims to protect the more than 1.55 million low income Filipinos renting homes has been signed into law last Tuesday by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the MalacaГ±ang Rizal Hall in a simple ceremony that was witness by Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Prospero Nograles, who co-authored the law.
The Republic Act 9653 or the “Act establishing reforms in the regulation of rent of certain residential units, providing the mechanisms therefore and for other purposes,” is an amendment to RA 9341, which expired last December 31, 2008.
The new rent control law sets a moratorium of one year on rent increases, and after the one-year moratorium, it sets a cap of seven percent in rent increases per year until the end of December 2013. It covers renters in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized cities who pay P10,000 a month or less, as well as those in other parts of the country who pay P5,000 or less a month. Boarding houses, bed spaces and dormitories would be allowed to raise rent only once a year.
Other provisions of the new law is the prohibition of requiring an advance rent payment of more than one month and a deposit of more than two months, as well as the sub-leasing of the rented property by the renters.
The lessor, on the other hand, has a right to eject the lessee on the following grounds:
- The renter assigns the lease or sub-lease the unit
- The renter has arrears in rental payment for three months
- The owner has legitimate needs to repossess his or her property and needs to make necessary repairs on the leased premises; and
- The lease contract has expired.
RA 9653 would in effect for four years, after which the HUDCC is given mandate to regulate the rental of residential units.
July 14, 2009
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Tags: HUDCC, New Rent Control Law, RA 9653 В· Posted in: finance, Law, Philippines
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