By Lamin Cham
The Rent Amendment Act 2024, which has brought about significant changes to the law governing rent in this country, has been passed into law since April this year when it was assented to by the president.
The private members bill sponsored by Hon Madi Ceesay of Serekunda West was first passed by the National Assembly to address the daily challenges of low-income earning tenants and their families by protecting them from abuse and harassment by landlords.
The new law now prohibits landlords from asking for six months or three months advance payment or deposits from tenants for rent that is not more than D7000.
In other words, no tenant should make advance payment of more than one month if the rent is D7000 and below.
“If any landlord demands or conditions any tenant to pay more than one-month advance for a rent that is D7000 per month or below, the tenant should refuse or pay the money and take the receipt to court as evidence. The law is very clear and the landlord will face it,” said a leading lawyer, who interpreted the Act for The Standard.
He said equally, under the same law, no landlord can evict a tenant without a three-month notice. “And perhaps more importantly, it is illegal to increase rent more than five percent at any given time. So, this means that if a tenant is paying D3000, any increase on the rent must be on D150 and not a butut more. This will now make it impossible for a landlord to just get up and increase the rent anyhow he or she likes,” the lawyer said.
Contacted for clarifications, the sponsor of the bill Hon. Madi Ceesay said the law came into effect since the day it was gazetted last April and it is now a full fledge.
“You see, before this amendment, the old law compels anybody paying less than D3000 per month rent to pay six months in advance. But now, with this amendment, that figure has been raised to D7000, meaning tenants paying D7000 per month or less cannot be made to pay advance for more than one month,” Hon, Ceesay said.
The Serekunda West NAM said tenants who face these issues must be ready to go to court to seek redress because the law is very clear and it is functional.
“The law will not come to your house to help you. For this law to be effective, members of the public who are affected must be ready to go to court any time landlords violate the law,” Hon Ceesay said.
