Recto files bill extending Rent Control Act

MANILA, Philippines - By next month, millions of Filipinos who are paying rent would no longer be protected from possible hikes in the rate they are currently paying due to the expiration of Republic Act 9653 or the Rent Control Act on Dec. 31.

In order to ensure that the average Filipino would not have to worry about any sudden jump in their rent, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto has filed a bill that would extend RA 9653 for another four years starting next year.

Recto was also responsible for the previous extensions of the law.

Citing the most recent data from the National Statistics Office, Recto noted that the average Philippine household earns P234,000 in a year, of which up to 12.5 percent went to the payment of rent.

After food, Recto pointed out that rent was the highest in the rank of priorities in household expenditures.

“The importance given to house rent is far greater than that for other basic necessities such as education and health,” Recto said, adding that this applies to both the highest and lowest household incomes.

For a household that earns an average annual income of P715,000 or P60,000 a month, Recto said they spend around 13.3 percent on house rent.

The poorest households or those that earn an average of only P60,000 a year or roughly P5,700 a month spend around 7.9 percent on rent.

As of 2009, over 18 million families, mostly from the National Capital Region are renting either a house, room or lot.

“Rent control is a mechanism that ensures affordable housing in the Philippines. It also safeguards lessees from arbitrary rent increases and corollary ejectment,” Recto said.

“There have been measures to control rent since the 1970s and to this day there is an apparent need to extend the duration of the Rent Control Act to continue providing affordable housing for Filipinos, targeting in particular the lower income groups,” he said.

Under Recto’s bill, the Rent Control Act would be extended from Dec. 31, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2017.

Once enacted, the rent of any residential unit covered by the law would not be increased by more than seven percent annually as long as the unit is occupied by the same lessee.

Recto said the law would cover houses, apartments, boarding houses, dormitories and bed spaces.