The Landlord and Tenant relationship in Uganda has had no explicit laws. Instead, the East African country relies on several imported laws like the landlord and Tenant Act to regulate this relationship; however, the country transits to middle-income status and is one of notable progress in the real estate development in terms of commercial and residential estates.
The Bill was presented before the parliament in 2018 and yesterday was approved by parliament, only awaiting presidential consent for it to become law. The primary objective is to reform and consolidate the law relating to the letting of premises and provide for the responsibilities of landlords and tenants regarding the letting of premises and related matters.
Well, We have hand-picked for you some key points to note.
- Landlord & tenant must sign a tenancy agreement.
- The tenancy agreement will cover other over-the-head expenses like garbage, parking fees & other utility.
- Rent should not be increased more than 10% annually
- landlord must give the tenant notice about the rent increments. The statement must be at least 60 days.
- Landlords can only evict tenants who fail to clear their rent obligations only after giving the tenant notice of 30days.
- After these 30days, the landlord can access the tenant’s premises and take property as a means of recovering accumulated rent arrears, done in the presence of local council authorities and police.
- Lastly, rent is paid in Ugandan shillings, not US dollars.
- The clause which called for fining landlords for being a nuisance to the tenant had been removed.