A much-needed safeguard against abrupt evictions and sharp rent increases is being provided to renters in the Gambia by a proposed modification to the Rent Act. The bill, which was introduced by Madi MK Ceesay, the National Assembly member for Serekunda West, aims to increase the minimum eviction notice term from the existing vague length of time to a complete ninety days.
Hon. Ceesay underlined that the proposed modifications advocate for a required 90-day written notice period in place of the present practice of landlords giving renters short notice to quit the property.
“The measure aims to solve the problem of providing notice to renters. With this modification, you should get a written notice of 90 days from your renters rather than being asked to leave in a short amount of time. This bill strives to maintain properties that renters inhabit for the duration of the agreement between the parties because it recognizes that landlords provide a very significant service, the speaker added.
The law also proposes a 5% yearly increment cap in response to complaints about rent hikes. Ceesay emphasized the need for control, saying that landlords shouldn’t be allowed to raise rent twice in a single year. The percentage increase has been carefully considered in order to protect landlords and renters from excessive financial burden.
The measure proposes a minimum yearly rise of 5%, but as we all know, rent increases in our nation must be subject to regulations. Consequently, the purpose of this measure is to limit rent increases at 5% yearly, meaning that you are not allowed to raise your rent twice in a single year.
A fair proportion will be permitted as an annual rent increase, therefore the rate at which rent is raised is also carefully evaluated to ensure that neither landlords nor renters suffer. The expenses are split into two categories under the 2014 Rent Act. Low price starting at $3,000 and going lower. That implies that every renter using space that costs $3,000 or less is fully responsible for monthly rent payments, according to Hon. Ceesay.
A clause in the 2014 Rent Act that permits landlords to demand advance payment for six months or longer is also challenged by the amendment bill. Ceesay said that this policy needed to be changed, with the low-cost group being raised to GMD 7,000 so that individuals who rent below this amount may make monthly payments. Tenants may still be required to make bulk payments for properties that are worth more than this amount.
According to the 2014 Act, your landlord can demand payment in full or in installments, and this amendment aims to raise the threshold from $3,000 as low cost to $7,000 so those who fall into that range can pay their rent easily on a monthly basis instead of having their landlord demand payment in full or in installments. Anything over $7,000 will be considered high cost, and you may be asked to pay in bulk, the landlord stated.
In addition, the 2023 rent amendment bill aims to update the Rent Act of 2014 by modifying the value designated for affordable rental properties to reflect the state of the economy today. The main objective is to reduce the financial strain of upfront rent payments and enable regular people to pay on a monthly basis, therefore making rent more affordable.
The measure was forwarded to the National Assembly Business Committee for further study after a lengthy discussion among the members.