Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced that all individual tenants who have a tenancy agreement or any other document certifying the contractual relationship to rent a property, and have lost their job or been suspended as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic will not have to pay rent in April or May.
The same will also apply to students who are leasing accommodation.
The announcement was made on Rama’s Facebook yesterday and further details were clarified on the ‘Opinion’ TV show last night
The two months of rental arrears will be paid by the tenant proportionately as agreed with the landlord, after May. For those who have contracts that expire within those months, the rent will be paid no later than three months after the end of May.
Any tenant whose landlord refuses to abide must report them to the tax office and the landlord will be fined five times the monthly rent.
In cases where there is not a notarised lease but there is a written contract or even a handshake, the rules will still apply and tenants can still benefit.
It is not clear what the process is for dual income households where one member has lost their income and the other continues to work. Answers sent to a spokesperson of the Prime Minister remain unanswered at the time of writing.
