The decision by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements in consultation with the Department of Human Settlements and the State Law Advisor to have the proposed Rental Housing Amendment Bill redrafted, presents an opportunity for further public comments, says the Chairperson of the Committee on Human Settlements, Ms Nomhle Dambuza.
“Applying for a redraft of this Amendment Bill requires that another set of public hearings be held and we believe that this will give an opportunity to the parties who did not comment during the first round,” she added.
This comes after a move by the committee to have the Amendment Bill redrafted so that it not only covers aspects raised by Department, but also addresses the loopholes and ambiguities identified in the Rental Housing Act, 1999 and its subsequent Amendment, the Rental Housing Amendment Act of 2007.
According to Ms Dambuza, the Rental Housing Amendment Act, 1999 had gaps which could lead to exploitation of one party by another and the committee hoped that its proposals together with those of the Department would identify and close such gaps.
“Our experiences, through complaints brought before us and the ones picked up during our oversight visits, suggested that there are lot of problems in the Rental sector and we hope that redrafting this bill will minimise those challenges. In our view, the redraft provides a balanced view of how challenges faced by landlords as well as tenants should be addressed”, she added.
Due to the Committee’s several proposed amendments to the Bill, the Chairperson indicated that this Bill would now revert to the Committee, not the Department. She made it very clear that the Bill was not rejected: Committee wished to enhance the work of the Department.
Explaining the way forward, the Chairperson said “the Committee will consult with the National Assembly and follow the relevant Parliamentary processes required when proposing a new legislation.”
The Chairperson assured the Department that “throughout this process communication between the Committee and the Department will carry on and that the Department will have ample time to make its input.”
In October last year, the Department sought to amend the Rental Housing Act, 1999 to among other things require that MECs be responsible for the establishment of the Rental Housing Tribunals and to extend the powers of Tribunals so that they could withdraw or vary any rulings. However, the committee noticed that the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants were not clearly spelled out and that some of the public comments raised during the Department’s public hearings were not accommodated in the proposed Amendment Bill.
“As Members of Parliament, are public representatives and therefore we had to make sure that these issues are clearly spelled out and are factored into the proposed Rental Amendment Bill ”, she said.
The proposed redraft obliges landlords to:
- reimburse Rental Deposit with accrued interest
- provide regular maintenance to the tenants property or room
- provide written Agreements and receipts for every payment made
- reserve a right to recover any monies owed to them
- terminate the lease in respect of rental housing property on grounds that did not constitute an unfair practice and were specified in the lease.
For media inquiries or interviews:
Mr Temba Gubula
Cell: 078 735 8809
Tel: 021 403 8307
