Shura to debate one-year lease rollover cap

TDT | Manama

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Lease rollovers would be capped at one year under a bill that a Shura Council committee wants the chamber to reject on Sunday, saying current procedures already cover such cases.

The draft rewrites Articles 28 and 34(a) of the Law on the Property Rent Law (Law 27 of 2014) and adds a new Article 28 bis.

It is pitched as a way to balance landlord and tenant rights, set a clear route for paying or handing back what is owed when a landlord will not accept it, and limit any statutory extension of an expired lease to a single year regardless of the original term.

Change

After reading Parliament’s decision, a legal memo and the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee’s view that the text is sound in law and under the Constitution, the Public Utilities and Environment Committee said the change is not needed.

It pointed to the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law (Decree-Law 12 of 1971), which already sets tender-of-performance and deposit rules that courts use in practice.

Those rules give tenants a working method to settle rent or return premises when a landlord declines to take them.

The committee also noted that the lease law protects both sides while leaving room for party choice.

Writing

It cited Article 35(a), which bars a landlord from seeking to evict a tenant from a home within three years of handover, or seven years for commercial, industrial, professional or craft use, unless both sides agree in writing.

Making a one-year rollover a hard rule would cut against the civil law principle that a contract is the law between the parties.

On practice, the committee referred to Court of Cassation rulings that a tenant meets the duty to return premises by putting them at the landlord’s disposal so they can be taken and used without hindrance, even if the keys are not collected.

Registered letter

If the landlord refuses, the tenant may send a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt and, if needed, ask a Lower Civil Court judge to appoint a custodian.

These steps sit within the procedures law.

Government bod - ies took the same line in talks.

The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf said courts already use the procedures law in such cases, showing the present framework is enough.

The Survey and Land Registration Bureau also joined the discussions.

Parliament tweaked parts of the text to answer concerns about leases shorter than a year, yet the committee said the same legal and practical issues remain.

The committee recommends rejection in principle. The full Council is due to debate the bill on Sunday.