Sayed Hussein Al-Qassab
In its session next Sunday morning, the Shura Council will discuss a draft law amending some provisions of the Real Estate Rental Law promulgated by Law No. (27) of 2014 prepared based on the proposal for a law “as amended” submitted by the House of Representatives.
The Public Utilities and Environment Committee of the Shura Council studied the draft law, and reviewed the decision of the House of Representatives and its annexes, and the opinion of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, which concluded that it was sound from both a constitutional and legal standpoint. It also reviewed the legal opinion memorandum prepared regarding it, and views on it were exchanged in the committee between their Excellencies the members and the committee’s legal advisor.
The committee explained that the draft law aims to implement the provisions included in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain that guarantee the protection of ownership and regulate the relationship between land and real estate owners and their tenants, citing the text of paragraphs (a) and (e) of Article (9) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in addition to taking into account the economic foundations and social justice stipulated in Article (9) of the Constitution, achieving a balance in rights and obligations between the landlord and the tenant, and regulating the mechanism for obtaining these rights and how to perform obligations, so that they are not burdensome for anyone. Both parties to the rental relationship, in the event that the lessor refuses to actually receive it, and reorganizing the legal extension in rental contracts whose term has expired and shortening it to one year, whatever the duration of the contract whose term has expired.
The committee attached the views of the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, which in turn clarified that the purpose of the draft law has already been achieved, through the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law, which singled out Chapter Nine for the offer-for-fulfillment and deposit procedures, indicating that they are rules applied to the offer-for-fulfillment and delivery of the leased property in the event that the lessor refuses to receive the property from the tenant, stressing that there is no need for the draft law, as these rules are applied by the courts in practice, which also confirms the adequacy of the legislation in force in achieving the goal of the draft law.
For its part, the Public Utilities and Environment Committee agreed with the views of the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, indicating that the draft law came with provisions similar to what was stated in the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law issued by Decree Law No. (12) of 1971 in Chapter Nine (Procedures for Offering Payment and Deposit), where Article (311) of it stipulates that “If the debtor wants to clear his responsibility for what is admitted in cash or otherwise, he may offer to pay it to the His creditor,” as Article (312) of it stipulates that “the offer to pay shall be made by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt without an envelope, including an accurate statement of the amount of money or thing for which payment is offered, the reason for the debtor’s obligation to pay it, the time and place of payment, and the terms of the offer.”
She pointed to Article (313) of the same law, which stipulates that “the creditor may, within three days from the date of receipt of the registered letter, refuse to accept the offer of payment, and this shall be done by a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt without an envelope. It is considered a rejection of the offer to pay if the creditor refuses to receive the letter referred to in the previous article or ten days have passed since his receipt, without receiving the letter of rejection from him, and the subsequent texts regulating the procedures for the offer to pay and deposit.
The committee confirmed that the effective real estate rental law has established provisions that enshrine protection for both contracting parties, without prejudice to their compatible will. The committee also believes that the issue of the lessor’s refusal to receive the leased property “without reason” from the tenant after the expiry of the contract period is not considered a problem from a practical standpoint as long as the legal texts regulate this issue without a legislative vacuum in it. It also does not require the intervention of the legislator to set special rules for the offer to fulfill the delivery of the leased property in light of the presence of detailed governing legal rules in the Civil Procedure Code. And commercial.
In light of the discussions that took place and the opinions expressed, the committee recommended not approving, in principle, a draft law amending some provisions of the Real Estate Rental Law promulgated by Law No. (27) of 2014 prepared based on the proposal for a law “as amended” submitted by the House of Representatives.
