Bill seeks to control what landlords charge

• If the proposed Bill becomes law, the government would determine fair rent for both tenants and the landlords

Housing permanent secretary, Tirop Kosgey, confirmed that the Bill has already been passed by Cabinet and is currently in the final stages of drafting at the Attorney General’s chambers.

The Bill proposes the concept of fair rent in place of standard rent.

It reads in part: “fair rent” would be assessed and determined by the Landlord and Tenant Tribunal on the basis of location, size, age, tenantable quality and outgoings of the subject premises. It will also take into account comparable lettings.”

Mr Kosgey says that if passed, the ministry would now regulate rent of up Sh15,000, up from the current Sh2,500. But why put a figure to this?

“If you don’t cap it at all or even at a higher level, it might discourage investments. That would amount to controlled price regime. At a lower level, however, we are protecting the common man,” says the PS.

He reasons that failure to put a ceiling might impact negatively upon decisions of investors but reckons that the new law gives room for anybody to launch a complaint.

“If it is beyond the jurisdiction of the tribunal, it is handed over to a court of higher jurisdiction,” says Mr Kosgey.

He adds that the ministry has a target of June, by which time the Bill should have been published.

Rent Tribunal chairman Hillary Kipkurui Korir told Saturday Nation that the Bill, if approved by Parliament, would accord protection to the underprivileged while at the same time affording reasonable return on investment to the landlord.

Of interest to tenants, says Mr Korir, would be the provision that landlords would be compelled to make the residential areas more habitable, ensure provision of adequate housing with reasonable standard of sanitation as required by the Constitution.

This is one of the four bills the ministry has prepared to table in Parliament.

The others, according, Mr Kosgey, include Housing, Leasing and Maintenance Policy as well as the National Planning and Building bills.

“The purpose of these bills is to ensure that we scale up the standards of housing now and we must move towards ensuring that we get good human settlement,” said the PS.

The Kenya Alliance of Resident Association (KARA) predicts that rent can only head further north if there are no sufficient interventions from the government.

With increased regulated rent, KARA chief executive officer Stephen Mutoro considers it overstretching the capacity of the tribunal. He also adds that with inflation, the poor are paying relatively high rents.

Today, houses that used to cost about Sh5,000 in places like Komarock just a year ago are costing nearly Sh17,000 per month. In other places like Runda, rent has gone up to as high as Sh250,000 per month.

Mr Mutoro says that when the value added tax (VAT) on commercial house rents were increased through the budget, unscrupulous landlords took advantage to hike residential rent as well.

“This is due to lack of definition of commercial houses. And now unsuspecting tenants are pointing an accusing finger at the government,” says Mr Mutoro.