Balance in view on rent reform (1)

The rent reform is at long last seeing the light of day. The suffering landlords who have for so long been deprived of their properties or a fair return on their capital are now on the verge of having justice done.

One discordant note is that landlords who own commercial properties have to wait for 20 years to bring their contract into line with market rates. This is a long time and it should be cut drastically. We know of commercial premises in prime areas paying negligible rents after being inherited from father to son. Why this long delay? These people have been suffering long enough. In 20 years' time many of the owners, being elderly, won't be with us. I think that this period should be shortened to 10 years.

The White Paper has been well received by the public as it has found a good balance between protecting the tenure of current residents, ensuring fair rents and finally allowing the landlords to repossess their properties.

No doubt about it, the landlords have been at the receiving end for a long time. The new law will bring to an end the abuses by tenants who will no longer use other people's properties to do business. It will no longer make it possible for landlords to be held to ransom by being asked to pay hefty sums of money to repossess their properties.

I had just one example told to me recently: A 20-year-old chap changed his ID card address to that of his grandfather. After the latter died the grandson took possession of his residence while renting out his newly built apartment for Lm90 monthly. This is only one example of the obscenities that have been allowed to take place in the name of social justice. Finally, I think that the time for consultation is too long. For those interested in the matter a four-week period is enough.