Second Round of Consultations for Proposed Bill

Oct. 3, 2017, 6:04 a.m.

Second Round of Consultations for Proposed Bill

Consultations on a proposed Landlord and Tenant Act will soon be held in the Western Division by the Fiji Commerce Commission.

A notice by Operations Coordinator, Sanjay Menon confirmed that this second round of public consultations for the proposed legislation would be held from February 27 to March 3.

“The Commission has a draft Act and we are currently doing a Fiji-wide consultation to inform the public on what is contained in the draft and hear submissions as to what this legislation should include,” he stated.

The first round of consultations was held earlier this year, though attendance by members of the public were low, with many opting to attend after reading through the draft legislation.

Issues raised at the first public consultation in Nadi included complaints on tenants not paying their bills, how rates were set, a lack of proper tenant identities and mismatched charges between bonds and damage incurred.

Lautoka’s consultations highlighted criticism against the imposition of the Rent Freeze Order – which prevents landlords from increasing their charge from what it was as of 2007-, noise restrictions and visitations. Complaints were also raised against high rental prices, while some called for more awareness on the Rent Freeze Order, a need to have a checklist for properties and consent to rent properties and the related fees charged.

In the Northern division, the first round of public consultations in Labasa stressed the high cost of investments for landlords and drew calls for a Rent Data listing to capture details of self-employed people. Northern residents all called for more powers to the FCC to inspect property conditions and enforce rights of parties involved, and for all rates and charges applicable to landlords to be controlled by the FCC.

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