You Can Now Live Up To 6 Months Without Paying Rent in Uganda

Tenants in Uganda will be able to default paying rent for between 3 to 6 months and only evicted after six months in a new bill that is set to hit hard on landlords if effected.

The bill was passed by the Ugandan parliament in what the proponents have argued that it seeks to “among other things regulate the relationship between landlords and tenants.”

If the bill becomes law, any landlord who will evict a tenant unlawfully, that is before the default is six months will be fined 5 million Ugandan shillings or a jail term of 1 year or both upon conviction.

The bill also requires landlords to give tenants an eviction notice of six months failure to which it will attract the same punishment of 5 million shillings fine, one year in jail upon conviction.

The bill has also made it unlawful for landlords to charge rent in dollars. All landlords will be required to charge rent in the local currency with those found violating the directive to face the full force of the law.

Those against the law say that some tenants might take advantage to frustrate their landlords by not paying rent hiding the law.

Should the same law be introduced in Kenya?

Uganda just passed the #TenantsBill giving tenants the freedom to default rent for up to between 3-6 months and one can only be evicted from the house after 6 months. 😀😀! This is an interesting law.

— juma G. 🇰🇪 (@jumaf3) June 28, 2019

Kenya needs a #RentControlBill. Homes and office building owners have a greedy habit of increasing rent every year without any value addition. Our office rent @Pawa254 has increased every year since 2011 without any infrastructure improvements. Rent increase must make sense. https://t.co/LTlgdvGSB4

— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) June 29, 2019