* Update – Republic Act (RA) No. 9653, also known as the Rent Control Act of 2009, was signed into law last July 14, 2009. Salient features of RA 9653 can be found here while the full text of The Rent Control Act of 2009 can be found here.
*Update 2: The Rent control Act of 2009 has been extended until December 31, 2015, according to a press release from the Senate of The Philippines.
House not keen on extending rent control law – solon
By EDMER F. PANESAThe country’s rent control law expired last December 31 and there’s little chance of it being extended.
And should this happen, this could be bad news for tenants of apartments, boarding houses and dormitories as the increase in rental rates might be much higher than the increases in the past three years.
According to Parañaque City Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, the House of Representatives is not inclined to pass a new law that would extend the Rent Control Act of 2005.
The rent control law first took effect in 1999 and was extended twice, in 2002 and 2005. The law prevented unbridled increases in rents of residential units and gave protection to low-income tenants and boarders, especially students.
Zialcita, vice chairman of House Committee on Housing and Urban Development and one of the principal authors of the law, said they would allow the prevailing market forces to set the increase on rent this year.
“No more extensions,” he said. “Two extensions were enough. Let the market forces set the amount of the increase (of the rent).”
*This is just an excerpt, read the rest of the article here: Manila Bulletin
Well, from what I have learned from experienced real estate professionals, market forces basically dictate the rent. Even if there is no rent control law, landlords can’t just dictate a very high rent if the rental rates in the area are low. They’ll end up with no tenants for sure.
Of course, it may also be that the rent control law muffled the market rental rates, so with its non-extension, there is a possibility that landlords may increase rates consistent with market forces. Just remember that at the end of the day, a landlord needs tenants in the same way that tenants need landlords, so the landlord should not be too greedy and should only ask for rental rates that are fair and just under the circumstances.
As foreclosed real estate investors, we should all be aware of the laws affecting rentals as these affect the computations which we use to determine whether we should invest in a particular property or not. As the rent control law has just expired last December 31, and with the clamor from some sectors to extend it, it is still possible that this just might happen. I will monitor this issue and let you know of any developments so don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list.
*The rent control act, also known as Republic Act No. 9341, is an act establishing reforms in the regulation of rent of certain residential units, providing the mechanisms therefor and for other purposes. You may read it in its entirety here: http://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2005/ra_9341_2005.html
* Update – Republic Act (RA) No. 9653, also known as the Rent Control Act of 2009, was signed into law last July 14, 2009. Salient features of RA 9653 can be found here while the full text of The Rent Control Act of 2009 can be found here.
