President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday issued Law No. 20 for 2015 on leasing real estate properties for housing, vacationing, tourism, recreation, business, industrial or vocational activities, or practicing legally-regulated professions.
As per the law, leasing contracts are subject to the volition of contracting parties in all the aforementioned cases, as well as in the cases of properties leased to public-sector establishments, educational establishments, political parties, civil organizations, unions, and associations.
The law sets the rates of properties’ rent depending on the type of property as listed above. For example, the rates for properties leased for housing purposes are proposed at 1-5 percent of the property’s value, plus 20 percent of the value of furniture listed in the lease.
Leases can be registered at administrative units (such as governorates, municipalities, etc.) and applications are only accepted from the full owner, or the person who owns at least 75 percent of the shares listed in the property’s real-estate records.
The law also sets regulations and rules for litigation among contracting parties in leasing, as well as stipulating the conditions of eviction in the case of defaulting on rent payment, vandalism of the property, or using it in a way that violates the conditions of the contract, in addition to setting provisions for protecting tenants from being pressured or harassed by landlords to vacate the property.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
