The Landlords and Tenants Association of Kenya Wednesday called on the government to consider measures to cushion them from the economic impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Association called for a three-month rent waiver for tenants.
“There should be a waiver for rent for the month of April, May and June so that the common citizen can actually work on putting food on the table.”
“Right now I wonder, if you have Sh3,000, Sh4,000, Sh10,000 or Sh20,000, are you going to use it to pay for the rent or are you going to use it to make sure you have put food on the table?” the Association posed in its statement.
The government was also called upon to assist landlords servicing loans to get a six-month moratorium from commercial banks.
“The government should come up with a compensation package for the landlords. We know very well that most landlords depend on the rents they receive to service their loans. We are asking the government to institute the moratorium so that they can have that ample time to put food on their tables now that they are not going to get that income for the months of April, May and June,” they said.
Calls for review or suspension of rents and loan repayment commitments have been rife in recent days after the Central Bank of Kenya projected slowed economic growth as the country battles CODID-19.
The government has announced plans to review the Value Added Tax rate from the current 16 per cent to 14 per cent with persons earning less than Sh24,000 exempted from paying income tax.
Those earning more than Sh24,000 will contribute Pay As You Earn (PAYE) at the rate of 25 per cent, down from 30 per cent.
