Sulaiman Al-Kaba'a Al-Riyadh newspaper THE Ministry of Housing has started drafting rent control regulations in the country. The regulations define the relationship between the landlord and tenant and have been designed to link the lease offices to information on the tenants' credit history as well as time frames set for the payment of the rents - monthly, quarterly, or yearly. In addition to this, the ministry is going to establish a database which records the financial status of tenants and also includes a list of tenants who have a history of not paying rent on time. However, these regulations are one sided in the sense that they protect landlords from tenants rather than protect both parties from one another. It is without a doubt that these new regulations will please landlords as the new laws are in their favor. This raises a crucial question about the fate of tenants, especially since it is common knowledge that tenants have been suffering from greedy landlords, especially in recent years. It has become common practice for a landlord to increase rent without any justification. Concerned officials are aware of this fact, yet have have shown no efforts to protect tenants in the new regulations. This also poses a question about the role the Ministry of Housing plays in protecting tenants at a time when landlords have raised rents by over 40 percent. The new regulations also evoke questions about the services that will be offered to tenants who pay rent on time. Tenants have several fundamental rights which are completely ignored by landlords and the ministry. There are many landlords who believe that tenants have no rights which has been proven time and again in the failure of the landlords to fulfill their obligations towards their tenants. Many buildings have no parking lots for tenants, a matter which could explain the reason behind the spread of burglaries of homes and cars. Thus, the Ministry of Housing should also accept its responsibility towards tenants and come up with laws to protect them from greedy landlords.
