Residents of municipal apartments will not have to rush to re-register indefinite rental agreements. The Saeima Commission supported amendments that will allow municipalities to complete this process two years later than originally planned.
The Saeima's Commission for State Administration and Local Governments has supported amendments to the Law on the Rental of Residential Premises for the third reading, which provide for the extension of the deadline for re-registering indefinite rental agreements for municipal housing.
If the amendments are finally adopted, municipalities will be able to conclude new fixed-term rental agreements with current tenants until December 31, 2028.
Currently, authorities acknowledge that completing this work within the previously established deadlines may be challenging, especially in large cities. The greatest problems are anticipated in Riga, where the number of indefinite agreements remains significant. The process of re-registering them requires time, administrative resources, and interaction with each tenant.
The amendments also clarify that the new rules will apply to all indefinite rental agreements for municipal housing, regardless of whether they were concluded under housing assistance programs or on other grounds.
For tenants, the previously established notification procedure remains in place. If, as of July 1, 2026, a person is residing in a municipal apartment under an indefinite agreement, the municipality will be required to send them a notification regarding the term of the new agreement in accordance with current local regulations.
What residents need to know: this is not about mass termination of agreements or eviction. The amendments primarily concern the legal re-registration of existing relationships between the municipality and the tenant.
Separately, the bill stipulates that court cases related to rental agreements initiated before June 30, 2026, will continue to be processed under the previous regulations.
The authors of the amendments explain the need for changes by the desire to reduce the administrative burden on municipalities and avoid a potential increase in the number of legal disputes. Additionally, the extension of deadlines is intended to make the process clearer and more predictable for the tenants themselves.
Thus, municipalities will gain additional time to complete the housing rental reform, while residents will have more clarity regarding the further re-registration of their agreements.
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