In the interim, landlords are to voluntarily desist from demanding annual down payments for monthly rental fees ahead of the expected Housing Act that will formally ban the practice.
In the meantime also, the government has bid wananchi to exercise patience during this period when details of the law are finalised.
“We have started preparation of the Housing Policy that accommodates the scenario of the expected Law,” said the Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development deputy minister, George Simbachawene.
Making the announcement yesterday in the House, he pointed out that if the housing sector is well regulated it will make a great contribution to the country’s economic development.
He was responding to a question by Catherine Magige (Special Seat-CCM) who inquired as to the government’s stand and plans as to the abolition of annual rental payment system.
“Making the already impoverished wananchi pay the whopping 12 months rent at a go is too much of a burden to shoulder,” the legislator told the House.
In his response, Simbachawene acknowledged the need to have a formal system on the payment of house rent to reduce unnecessary burden to citizens.
Posing an additional question, Seleman Jaffo (Kisarawe-CCM) asked the government to explain its housing sector plans to tax landlords who are levying the 12 months pay and yet they are not registered as businesses and do not pay any taxes to the government for the revenue so generated.
Simbachawene conceded that the housing sector is not contributing as much as it could to the country’s development but reassured the House that the government is working to ensure to regulate and formalize the sector.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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