Processes and functions of the rent control board handed over to the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development
The Minister of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT), Lucia Iipumbu this week handed over the processes and functions of the Rent Control Board to the Minister of Urban and Rural Development (MURD), Erastus Utoni.
The Rent Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. 13 of 1997) is a legal instrument that aims to regulate the letting and hiring of non-commercial properties in areas where rent boards have been established.
Iipumbu handed over the Rent Control board because, the MIT transferred the function of the Rent Control Board to the MURD, deemed befitting within the roles and responsibilities of MURD.
A brief background, in 2015, Cabinet took the following resolution and decision (Cabinet Decision No. 1st SP/17.0215/001), that the government should introduce measures to regulate the rental market with a view to prevent the current exploitation of tenants by landlords. Thereafter, the Special Cabinet Committee on Land Related Matters (SCCLRM) directed government to introduce measures through various resolutions targeted at regulating the rental market in order to prevent the exploitation of tenants by Landlords.
Following stakeholders’ consultation April 2017, comments to the draft Bill were solicited from various stakeholders including the Attorney Generals’ Office and the AGE further advised that the Bill by housed under the MURD as the responsible Ministry of housing.
