By Kebba AF Touray
The Gambia is facing legislative and policy problems regarding the issue of tenancy. The Gambia has a Rent Act and there is an ongoing process by the National Assembly to address the problems of tenancy in the country.
There is no control or oversight by the Government or the Local Councils on landlord-tenant relationship. The land or property owner decides what the tenant pays at his or her discretion. The tenant is obliged to pay or else will be asked to leave. The law does not cater for the rights of the tenants. In most cases, the land or property owner uses the court to evict the tenant.
Many Gambians residing in the townships have been decrying exorbitant rent fees and requests by property owners for advanced payments in excessively high sums among other complaints. The overwhelming majority of the people the reporter interviewed said they were asked by the property owners to make deposits with them to renovate the houses before agreeing to give them the house. This means the tenant is responsible for renovating a house he or she is about to occupy while the property owner does nothing. Some tenants decried that they were asked to pay for the damages done to the houses they previously occupied.
The Rent Act was enacted in 1996 through a military decree, Decree Number 67 of 1996. The Act seeks to establish rent tribunals for the regulation and adjudication of rent issues, and connected matters. According to the Act of 1996, rent includes money paid by a tenant to a landlord for the occupation of a property at a given period as agreed upon by the landlord and the tenant. The 2017 Rent (Amendment) seeks to amend the Rent Act 2014, by removing the administration of the Act from the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and placing it within the remit of the judiciary as stated in the Constitution.
The 2017 (Amendment) Bill also gives provision for the rent tribunal to be solely presided over by a first-class magistrate as chairperson in an attempt to tackle the considerable backlog of cases before the tribunals and help solve the perennial problems between landlords and tenants.
Hassan Bubacar Jallow, the Chief Justice of The Gambia, said he has directed all first-class magistrates to hear and determine rent disputes. Justice Jallow said the magistrate’s courts will now serve as rent tribunals.
“I expect that this will facilitate easier access to justice for landlords and tenants on and speedier resolution of their disputes,” Jallow said.
Jallow was speaking at the Legal Year Ceremony held at the Supreme Court complex, Banjul in February 2021.
In the Gambia, it is very easy for a property owner to evict a tenant. The easiest and fastest method is through the courts. The common reason that the property owners give the court is that they would claim that they want the tenant to vacate because they want to renovate the house. The courts would act on this and pass an order to evict the tenant within days.
Section 14 (1) mandates that the registrar of rent for the tribunal shall prepare and keep an up-to-date register for the purpose of registering properties and standard rent and shall make the registrar available for inspection in such place and manner as the tribunal may direct. Section 15 subsection 1 states that where a tribunal determines the standard rent for any property, the rent officer shall register such property and the standard rent after payment by the landlord of the prescribed fees.
Despite the legal requirement for a register of property owners, there is no such register. The tenants are demanding the Government or the local councils to ensure that the properties are registered and the prices the owners are charging are known to them. The tenants said the gap in the administration of rent in the Gambia, are adversely affecting tenants in the country.
A Rent (Amendment) Bill 2023 was tabled by the Member for Serrekunda West before the National Assembly on Tuesday, 19December 2023. Honourable Madi Ceesay said his private member’s bill is seeking to abridge the gaps in the Rent Act as amended. He said the objective of the Bill is to address the plights of tenants and difficulties associated with rent.
Madi said the majority of the people including Government officials are living in rented properties. He explained that the tenants are charged huge sums by property owners to pay as rent fees. The legislator said the Bill wants to ensure that the rights of the tenants are respected so that they will feel treated humanely.
“The Bill seeks to improve on the Rent Act 2014 by raising the value specified for low-cost rental premises such that it is in line with contemporary times as well as to enable the ordinary person to afford to pay his or her rent monthly rather than face the burden of paying for six months or more at any given time,” he said.
Honourable Ceesay, a veteran media practitioner, said property owners would not be allowed to increase rent at their discretion, which eventually put the tenants at a disadvantage. He explained that the Bill seeks to oblige the property owners to provide a conducive environment for the tenants and to ensure proper upkeep of their premises.
He expressed a strong conviction that his fellow lawmakers will give the bill all the necessary support to ensure that the legislature passes it and becomes a law in the Gambia.
The veteran politician said the Bill was necessitated by the problems affecting tenants, some of which include exorbitant rent rate charges, six months advance payment requirements, undue and exorbitant increment in rent fees and the lack of proper upkeep of premises that tenants occupy.
Alagie Cham a tenant said they are suffering from numerous issues relating to rent, especially the tenants.
“The implementation of the rent law in itself is an issue because it does not cater for the rights of the tenants,” he said.
He expressed hope that the Bill once passed will solve the problems they are facing because it caters for the rights of tenants. He stated that the tenants will now have justice.
“A property owner cannot evict you just in the name of renovation or other cheap excuses. These are all done in disguise because they only do that when they want to increase the rent fees. They will send you out and then increase the fees before bringing another person. They will not renovate the house,” he said.
Like him, the other tenants said the idea of the Bill is commendable because it does not allow the property owners to increase the rent fees without following due process.
Kaddy Ceesay, a female tenant lamented that one of the biggest problems of the country is tenancy. She said the tenants are suffering and they need support to stop the property owners from increasing rent fees at their discretion. She decried that tenants do not have rights under the current system
“The tenants are in some cases treated as animals with no rights. The property owners do not take care of their properties and they will charge you exorbitant fees as rent,” she said.
Kaddy called on the Government to implement the law when it is passed so that it becomes a ‘game changer’.
Musa Darboe also a tenant called on the Government or the local councils to register all properties so that they can effectively monitor their activities. Darboe said a property owner should not be allowed to decide the rent fees all by himself. He added that the implementation of the law will pave way for Government to gain more revenue from the properties being rented than the current setting.
Musa asked the Government to put a stop to the exorbitant advance payment that the property owners usually request from the people.
“A property owner will tell you if you don’t pay six months advance, I will not give you my house. So, I think once it is passed and implemented all those problems will be addressed,” he said.
The National Development Plan (2018-2021) does not talk about the problems of tenancy. What is common in their (Political Parties) agendas is that they want to build affordable housing.
Marr Nyang, the Executive Director of Gambia Participates said there is a need to have a proper control management system in the country regarding tenancy.
“Not only the rent charge is expensive, but also the period of payment that property owners are asking is not something that most Gambians can afford,” he said.
He frowned at the practice of charging a tenant over D4000 or D10,000 per month for rent. He also said it is unfair to ask such a person to make an advance payment of six months or more.
“That is not a best practice. The bill currently before the Assembly should look at this to ensure that property owners must not ask for more than three-months advance payments,” he said.
He advocated for price control over rent fees. He mentioned that 2 years ago some people paid D120,000 for an apartment but now it has been increased to D150,000.
He maintained that there is a need to look at the factors that are leading to an increment in rent charges. He pointed out that one of the factors is the cost of tax on building materials as they are on the increase.
“Property owners use that as an opportunity to increase the rent fees to recoup their monies on building”.
Nyang also stated that the depreciation of the Gambian Dalasi against foreign currencies such as the US Dollar needs to be looked into as it is also a contributing factor.
“The bottom line is that there must be price control and the Ministry of Regional Government and Lands must make sure that there is a market price so that it is regulated. There has to be a price control mechanism to evaluate property owners that are overcharging citizens”, he said.
He restated that there is also the need to look at the rent bill before the assembly to introduce new clauses that will deter landlords from asking tenants to pay more than three months’ advance.
Marr also indicated his support for the Bill. He said it will also ensure that the problems concerning rent will be things of the past, as well as, ensure that tenants are fairly and humanely treated, and their rights and voices will also be respected by property owners.
On the other hand, the Gambia Government through the Ministry of Justice said they are working on a rent bill. However, our inquiry into the matter revealed that the Government has not taken steps yet to come up with the Bill.
Dawda A. Jallow, the Minister of Justice addressed the National Assembly on 13 June 2023 regarding the status of tenancy in the country.
“I am now happy to inform this August Assembly that the Ministry of Justice has taken ownership, and we will be the sector responsible for rent. As a result, we are now working on brand-new legislation to govern the rent industry because the rent industry is one sector in this country that is not regulated properly,” he said.
He announced that his Ministry is drafting new legislation to regulate the rent, adding that the new legislation will ensure the protection of the rights of both landlords and tenants. He labelled his proposed Bill as a “win-win” for both landlords and tenants. He promised that the Rent Bill would be brought before the National Assembly before the end of 2023.
Photo: Rented House Being Given to Tenant
