Deputy Minister of Urban Development: If the tenant does not accept the 25% rent increase, he will be required to vacate the house

Referring to the Rouhani government's new decree to increase rent, the deputy housing and construction minister of Iran's Roads and Urban Development said: "If the tenant does not accept the decree to increase the rent, the landlord can require him to vacate the house."

Following criticism of soaring housing and rent prices, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on July 28 that the government has decreed that starting tomorrow, rents in Tehran cannot be more than 25 percent higher than the previous year.

Mr. Rouhani said that the increase in rents in other metropolitan areas should not exceed 20 percent compared to last year, and in other cities, 15 percent.

Mahmoud Mahmoudzadeh, Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction of the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, told IRNA on Monday, July 29: "If the tenant has not fulfilled his obligations during the current contract, in a way that has caused losses to the owner, he is not subject to the new decree and must vacate the property."

He added: "Also, if an owner sells his house officially and not by contract while renting the property, the tenant must vacate the property after two months."

This official from the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development stated: If the tenant does not comply with the rates announced by the National Corona Headquarters, the landlord can issue an eviction order to him; meaning that if in Tehran, the tenant does not accept a 25% rent increase, the landlord can require him to vacate his property.

The significant increase in housing prices and housing rents in Iran over the past months has caused serious dissatisfaction among tenants, especially since the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development recently announced that, based on statistics from 2016, 43.6 percent of people in Tehran are renters.

Central Bank statistics show that housing prices in June 2020 increased by 42.5 percent and rents by 27.6 percent compared to the same month last year. However, media outlets, including the Shahrvand newspaper, have reported that rents have increased by between 40 and 100 percent.

Also, the government's resolution to restrict landlords from increasing housing rent only applies to contracts that are due for renewal and does not include new contracts.

Mr. Mahmoudzadeh claims: "This resolution neither violates the rights of the owner nor forgets the rights of the tenant, but is considered a balanced resolution."

In recent days, various reports have been published about two families renting a single house, renting out rooftops for overnight stays, and selling gold and cars to pay off the mortgage.

Source: Radio Farda