The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is studying a proposal to introduce rent control regulations to protect tenants from unjustifiable increases and landlords from non-paying tenants. However, some experts believe the regulations will either never be implemented or be so weak it would not make any difference to the market. According to local reports, a draft of the regulations is being studied by the ministry and the National Information Center. Ahmed Mohammed, a father of four, said that over the past three years his landlord has increased the rent of his apartment from SR20,000 to SR35,000. “It would be great to have a system that protects tenants, like the one in the UAE for example,” he said. Mohammed said it was hard for him to move to another apartment. “My kids go to school in that area and if I moved, I would pay more than SR25,000 just to renovate or add the finishing touches to a new apartment,” he added. He said that the attitude of the landlord was that he should either accept the increase or vacate the place. “The landlord was rude. When we asked why we should pay more, he said that all landlords in that area had raised their rents so why should he not do the same.” One landlord has welcomed the proposal. Adel Ibrahimi said that he has had many problems with tenants delaying rent for months while he could not do anything about it. “I try to be fair with my tenants, I increased my rents because of the high living expenses nowadays,” he said. He believes the rent control proposal will protect his rights. “I can't kick out a tenant for not paying rent. There is no system other than going to court and waiting a long time,” he added. Essam Al-Zamel, an economist and the executive director of Remal Company for IT based in Dammam, said that there are no clear laws to protect the rights of both tenants and landlords. “To have a clear unified lease for both would solve so many issues such as increasing rent for tenants and collecting rent for landlords,” he explained. “Landlords should realize that tenants have children enrolled in schools around their neighborhood and have a social life.” Al-Zamel said regulations would bring certainty and see more people investing in the rental sector. Bandar Rawas, a real estate developer, believes that the unified commercial lease will not be introduced. “It would take a long time for it to be released and even then I think it would be weak. It could take years for people to start working with a unified law,” he said. Rawas said the unified commercial lease was studied and suggested by the real estate committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) six months ago. “The main purpose of the unified commercial lease is to limit annual rent increases and ensure the rights of both tenants and landlords, but it would be hard to come up with a proper system anytime soon,” he said. __
