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City tenants, landlords clash over rent arrears
Closed shops during the lockdown in downtown Kampala. Operators of the shops want the landlords to waive rent for the months they were not working. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA
Owners of shopping malls and arcades have turned down a proposal by the tenants seeking to waive rent arrears for the three months the buildings have been closed due to the lockdown over Covid-19.
Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde yesterday told Daily Monitor in an interview that when tenants met President Museveni last week, they told him that they do not have money to pay rent for the months they have not been working.
Ms Kyambadde, however, said when she put this proposal to the landlords on Saturday, they rejected it, saying they cannot forego rent arrears because they have loans and taxes to pay.
“This issue has become so complicated because the landlords are not ready to forego rent arrears. They are instead saying they are going to allow the tenants to access their shops but pay arrears later,” she said.
“I have to go back to Cabinet before a final decision is made. I cannot take a decision by myself because it is very complicated. Cabinet will decide on this matter,” the minister added.
Ms Kyambadde met city landlords, including Mr Hamis Kiggundu, Mr Sudhir Ruparelia, Mr Godfrey Kirumira, Dr Ephraim Ntaganda, Mr Rashid Ssemambo and Dr Margaret Ssekidde.
Mr Kiggundu said they cannot waive the rent arrears because the government has also not waived the taxes and charges on utilities such as water and electricity they have been paying.
He said the landlords are ready to give ample time to the tenants when arcades are reopened to pay their arrears.
“We cannot forego that rent, unless the government is willing to pay us. Do you want banks to take our buildings over failure to pay their loans?” Mr Kiggundu said.
“We are ready to work hand in hand with our tenants on how they should pay their arrears. We shall not put them on pressure because they are not the ones who caused the pandemic,” he added.
Mr Ruparelia said landlords cannot forego rent as proposed by tenants because the government also does not want to forfeit any taxes.
Mr Kirumira also said on top of loans, they have to pay other utilities, maintain buildings and provide security for the properties of tenants.
Mr John Kabanda, the chairperson of Kampala New Generation Traders Association, said all tenants in arcades have vowed not to pay any rent for the period they have not been working.
He said they told the President last week to pronounce himself on the matter.
“We have not been working, so why should we pay rent for the services we have not been using? The government should pronounce it’s self on this before the arcades are re-opened. If it doesn’t, we shall demonstrate this injustice. We shall not even pay the instalments the landlords are talking about,” Mr Kabanda said.
Mr John Bosco Kakomo, a tenant in Kikuubo, said the landlords are using an excuse of loans, paying private security guards at the buildings during the lockdown and other utilities to force tenants to pay full amount of rent yet they have not been working.
He said the landlords should ask their tenants to pay a small amount to cater for few utilities as opposed to making them pay full amounts.
Meanwhile, both the government and landlords agreed on the special operating procedures for reopening of arcades. Ms Kyambadde said before the government considers opening up shopping arcades, the set procedures must be followed.
They include; decongesting the arcades by reducing the number of occupants to three per shop and ensuring a social distance of two meters between the shop attendants. Others are removing people trading in the corridors, staircases and doorways.
Background
In April, President Museveni warned landlords against evicting tenants who failed to pay their monthly dues as the country grapples with the fight against Covid-19. Mr Museveni asked landlords to be patient with their tenants considering that the crisis is affecting everyone.
