Riga plans to terminate indefinite lease agreements for municipal apartments and conclude them for five years, meaning that some existing tenants will have to acquire the premises or leave them, the Riga City Council reported.
The new rules define the procedure and conditions for concluding lease agreements for premises and conditions for alienation. The rules apply to residential premises rented out before the start of housing privatization, before July 25, 1995. Approximately 3,500 residential premises were rented out in this manner, and according to the law on the alienation of public property, tenants can still acquire them in ownership.
In accordance with previous practice, lease agreements were concluded with tenants for an indefinite term.
Before the law on residential leases came into force, the municipality did not have the legal ability to unilaterally change or terminate the concluded indefinite agreements. As a result, in the context of a housing shortage, the municipality was bound by indefinite rental relationships with individuals who were not entitled to assistance in resolving housing issues.
Now, agreements will be concluded for a term of five years. This is a sufficient period for the tenant to make a choice - to acquire the rented housing in accordance with the established legal procedure, find other housing, or seek assistance from the municipality in resolving housing issues.
At the same time, the project provides for the reduction of the contract term in cases where the tenant has arrears in utility payments, illegal alterations have been made to the residential premises, or the technical condition of the residential building in which the premises are located does not allow for the conclusion of a long-term lease agreement.
The municipality will be able to use residential premises that tenants do not acquire in ownership by the end of the lease term to fulfill the municipal function of assisting residents in resolving housing issues.
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