Realizing the right to affordable housing in Uganda: an analysis of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022

Abstract

Affordability is one of the most critical ingredients of the right to adequate housing. Unfortunately, this had long eluded tenants of both commercial and residential premises in Uganda. This was partly because there was no up-to-date legislation tailored to achieve housing affordability. Consequently, this study sought to investigate the extent to which the new Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022, bolstered housing affordability. This qualitative research compared this Act with similar legislation in other Common Law jurisdictions regarding those provisions intended to achieve housing affordability. The study found that it had improved housing affordability in Uganda than the case was before. The study recommended an amendment to the Act to fill in the lacuna highlighted during the research. There was a need for an amendment that placed the Central Government at the center of the battle of achieving housing affordability as it is in other countries like South Africa. There was also a need to create a Rent Tribunal with representatives of both tenants and landlords, having jurisdiction over all tenancy disputes in every village regardless of the amount involved. Such a Tribunal should dispose of suits within seven days. Appeals against decisions of the Tribunal should be executed within seven daysto the Magistrate’s court presided over by a magistrate Grade One or the Chief Magistrate, whose decision will be final. The study also recommended mass sensitization of the masses about the law since the tenants it intended to protect were yet to learn and internalize its contents. The study further suggested a synergy between the Central Government, financial institutions, and civil society to bolster housing affordability.