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{
"id": 1108071,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1108071/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Oscar Nabulindo (",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "Matungu, ANC): Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me a chance to contribute to this Bill. I take this opportunity to thank the Mover, the Leader of the Majority Party. At the outset, I support the Bill. First, it is important that, as a country and as a House, we make laws to protect both the landlord and the tenant. It is important that we come up with a legal framework on how to regulate this important industry. Kenyans aspire to be landlords. That is because of the allure of the benefits that come with being a landlord. Actually, very many people invest millions of shillings in real estates; houses and business premises for them to be called landlords. Therefore, it is prudent enough that after such heavy investments, there must be some legal framework on how the landlord will recover or benefit from the heavy investment. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we equally need to protect the tenants. In this country, almost 95 per cent of the people are tenants, especially those living in big cities and big towns such as Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru or Nyeri. In fact, it is even more than 95 per cent. Landlords are very few but tenants are very many. Therefore, there is need to balance the law so that both groups are not disadvantaged in their interaction. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am happy that there is a proposal to come up with a tribunal that will regulate the interaction between the landlords and tenants. However, there are some loopholes. Some things have been left out. The rent in this country and especially in the big cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu must be regulated. For whatever reasons, landlords have this sense of entitlement that they can wake up one morning and increase the rent or double the figure. There is always need to protect the tenants against some rogue landlords who might want to increase the rent haphazardly. Maybe, they need to pay their loans very fast or solve a personal or business problem. Therefore, they put their load on their tenants. In some instances, we have had landlords who increase rent even three times a year, and because there is no law to regulate that industry, the tenant is left with no choice but to pay the increment. Therefore, I hope that this Tribunal shall give a law that will protect tenants against haphazard increase of rent by landlords. In this country, we regulate so many other sectors. The fuel industry, for example, is regulated by the Government. Therefore, this rent issue has to be regulated. Otherwise, the tenants who live mostly in big cities are under siege from the landlords. For instance, we have certain areas where it is so unregulated that it has led to serious clashes between landlords and tenants. I remember some years back tenants refused to pay rent in Mathare North. They refused to pay rent because the landlord had doubled the rent of the next month. The landlord decided to bring goons to evict those tenants from his house, but they fought back and resisted to move. This resulted in the death of more than 10 people. Therefore, there is always need to regulate this industry so that tenants can know they are protected by the Government and landlords can know their investment is protected. At the end of the day, there will be results or benefits from their heavy investments."
}