Many citizens living in units rented under old rent contracts are eager to learn the legal procedures for vacating their properties, especially after the President ratified the Old Rent Law, which set clear regulations for dealing with cases of refusal to vacate.
According to Article 8 of the new law, tenants or individuals whose contracts were extended under the provisions of Law No. 49 of 1977 and Law No. 136 of 1981 are entitled to apply for an alternative residential or non-residential unit before the expiry of the contract terms stated in Article 2 of the law. This application may be for rental or ownership, depending on the units available from the state.
To be accepted, the application must include a clear and explicit declaration from the tenant or the individual whose contract was extended, committing to vacating and handing over the current unit immediately upon issuance of the allocation decision and receipt of the alternative unit.
Mechanism for Allocating Residential Units
The law stipulates that the Cabinet, based on the recommendation of the Minister of Housing, must issue a decision within one month from the date the law comes into effect. This decision should outline the rules, conditions, and procedures necessary for receiving, reviewing, and approving applications, as well as establishing priority arrangements and specifying the authority responsible for the allocation of available residential units.
According to the procedures, the relevant authorities must present a list of available residential units along with the priority rankings to the Cabinet for final approval. Priority in allocating residential units should be given to the original tenant or the spouse of the tenant whose contract was extended before the implementation of the law’s provisions. This decision must be made within no more than one year from the end of the contract term specified in Article 2 of the law.
Right to Litigation
The law grants the tenant, or the person to whom the lease was extended, the right to file a lawsuit before the competent court in accordance with standard legal procedures. However, the text clarifies that filing such a lawsuit will not suspend or halt the measures taken by the urgent matters judge as stipulated in the law.
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