Rents will not be reduced at properties coming under rent control in 2005, but rent increases at those properties will be regulated from now on, Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent said yesterday.

Rent increases are not necessarily being refused at rent controlled properties, they are simply being regulated, he added. Mr. DeVent emphasised that landlords do have rights under the Rent Control Increases (Domestic Premises) Act that can be exercised when necessary.

The Minister held a press conference yesterday to further explain the effects of amendments to that Act which were passed in the House of Assembly on Friday.

?Currently any residential premise with an ARV of $16,200 or less falls under the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Act 1978,? he stated. ?There are approximately 12,900 premises which currently fall into this category.?

New land valuations come into effect on January 1, 2005, however. The new list has higher annual rental values (ARVs) than the current one, meaning that there will be less properties with ARVs of $16,200 ? just 7,500, or 5,400 less than the current number. ?Therefore it was essential to amend the Act to achieve a corresponding increase in the ARV limit for rent control purposes,? Mr. DeVent said.

Under the amendment a new ARV cut-off point of $24,600 has been set. ?This will bring approximately 15,900 premises under rent control: all those premises which are currently under control plus approximately 3,000 additional premises not currently subject to control.

?The amendment ... does not mean that those rental premises which are currently outside of rent control will see their rents reduced.

?It does mean, however, that landlords whose premises will be coming under rent control for the first time will be required from January 1, 2005 to seek permission from the Rent Commissioner to increase their rents before charging their tenants. Further, landlords will also have to follow the procedures set out under the Act for evicting tenants.?

Government felt the measure was necessary ? protecting both tenants and landlords, he said.

?Shelter is a basic human right. All people in this country are entitled to be housed at a level they can afford and it is our responsibility as a Government to ensure that they can do so without fear of unfair increases in rent or unjust eviction.?

Landlords will be able to increase rents ?where justified? and will still have rights to evict ?tenants who do not uphold their responsibilities under the terms of their rental agreements?, he added. ?This amendment is not aimed at putting landlords at a disadvantage. This is one-sided legislation.?

Concerns that the amendment will prove to be a disincentive to landlords, discouraging them from developing properties for rent in the middle- to low-income ranges, were unfounded, Rent Commissioner Eugene Foley said at the press conference.

?The Act has been in place since 1971 and it hasn?t been a disincentive to date.?

It does not regulate initial rents, he added, but only increases ? meaning a landlord could set the rent at whatever level they wanted in the initial stages. They will have to apply to the Rent Commissioner only when they want to increase that initial rent.

Landlords and tenants of premises already under the rent control should notice no change in how their premises are regulated. The average one-bedroom under rent control, Mr. Foley said, could run anywhere from $1,000 to $1,800 or $2,000 per month.

The office of the Rent Commissioner, he added, is open, ready and willing to explain to tenants and landlords what their rights are. The office can be contacted on 297-7700 or 297-7701.

The new valuation lists will be posted at post offices around the Island on December 31, 2004, or online at www.landvaluation.bm.