Salceda proposes rent relief, eviction moratorium amid COVID-19 crisis

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 14) — A bill seeking to provide aid for households under tenancy agreements around  has been filed in Congress.

Albay Second District Representative and Ways and Means Committee Chair Joey Sarte Salceda has proposed House Bill No. 7665, which aims to make rent refinancing options available for over two million households.

The bill also calls for an eviction moratorium of three months in order to give more time for tenants and landlords to renegotiate rental agreements. In the same manner, it will allow concerned agencies to implement the measures contained in the proposal.

“The Bayanihan rent deferments are good; but because it takes people longer than 3 months to find new jobs, we still run the risk of eviction, unless we can find ways to get pending rent paid now, and allow tenants more time to finance their rent,” Salceda said.

“Deferments alone are unsustainable, because lessors — many of which are retirees — need to eat, too,” he added.

Under House Bill No. 7665, the Social Security System, the Government Service Insurance System, and the Pag-IBIG Fund are required to offer rent refinancing loans to their members at reasonable rates.

The Landbank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines are likewise mandated to provide loans at rates not higher than their lowest yielding ones.

With the rent relief, tenants will be provided with an extended loan repayment period. Banks will be paying for their rent “for some determined period.”

Furthermore, House Bill No. 7655 allows the acceptance of promissory notes, provided that government institutions will extend financial assistance to the tenants. The rent obligation will be converted into loan to prevent any tenant from being evicted within the period initially paid for.

Upon implementation of the bill, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development will put up rental assistance centers to help tenants and lessors renegotiate terms of lease, and look for other assistance programs.

“Grace periods which disrupt the consistency of payments to lessors may also harm property owners — typically, the elderly or the retired — who rely on rental income as their main source of income. The lack of consistent rental income may hamper the property owner’s ability to maintain the quality of the property to the detriment of both the tenant and the owner,” Salceda said.

The House Ways and Means chair disclosed that some 2.7 million households occupy rented housing, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. He said it is estimated to have increased to 3.1 million this year.

“Our analysis of the newly unemployed shows that up to 3% of these households, or some 93,000 households, may be in danger of eviction due to nonpayment of rent dues, even with the Bayanihan measures [providing] rent relief,” he noted.

Salceda stressed that the measures under his proposal “would complement [our] rent payment deferment strategies.” He said such will be “a more financially sustainable approach that would restore stability and consistency in the rent agreements for both tenants and lessors.”

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Article and Photo originally posted by CNN Philippines last September 14, 2020 7:44pm and written by Currie Cator.

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