Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1109010,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1109010/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 537,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitutu Masaba, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Shadrack Mose",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13390,
        "legal_name": "Shadrack John Mose",
        "slug": "shadrack-john-mose-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to proceed from where I left. The Landlord and Tenant Bill is one of the serious milestones that we have achieved by way of this Bill. It seeks to introduce a legal framework which balances the interest of the landlord vis a vis that of the tenant. I am sure you are aware that there has been a lot of confusion in this area. More particularly, the landlords have been very draconian in how they exercise their rights vis a vis the tenants. At the same time, the tenants have also been cunning in trying to avoid their obligation. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, this Bill balances the interest of both parties. In so doing the landlord will be able to earn a just living out of their investment of putting up a building. In most cases, you will find that a landlord has taken a facility and put up a premise and because the tenants are cunning, they are unable to earn a just and fair earning from their investment. However, this Bill balances the rights and the obligations of both parties. One of the things that is a serious improvement of this Bill is that the aspect of rent increase is mutual. However, in a number of occasions, that is not done. The landlord normally arbitrarily increases the rent because they contend that the property is theirs and that undermines the rights of the tenants. However, this Bill gives the tribunal an opportunity to balance both rights. It is on this core that this Bill also gives the Chief Justice the right to establish tribunals across the country. This is really a step in the right direction because establishment of tribunals across the 47 counties would also ensure that the landlord and the tenant can access those tribunals and that there will be proper adjudication of their matters. I have also seen in the Act that the tribunal has been empowered to deal with the issues of illegal and arbitrary evictions. What I used to see previously was that the landlord could arbitrarily throw out the tenant from their premises and the moment the tenant moved to the tribunal, they would be told the tribunal has no powers to reinstate them. This Bill now gives the tribunal the powers to reinstate a tenant where the evictions have been unfair. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, there are generally good issues that have come up in this Bill; The tribunal will also have the right to determine what is fair rent and deal with the increase and decrease of rent. The issue of the notice of termination of tenancy has also been addressed in this Bill. There is also the issue of sub-letting or the issue of assigning some premises. You will realise that many tenants in this country take tenancy and sub-let the premises to third parties. In that circumstance, you will find that the tenant who has sub-let from the main tenant is actually not protected. However, this Bill stamps authority in dealing with some of those issues. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, in this Bill, the landlord is actually required to keep records of the tenancy and the payment of rent. This will ensure that once an issue arises, it will The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}