Landlords Reject Mexico City Rent Cap at Fourth Forum on Rent Bill

Landlords told Mexico City lawmakers they oppose limiting rent increases to the rate of inflation, while tenants asked that the right to decent housing be guaranteed. Both groups spoke at the fourth dialogue session on the proposed Ley de Relaciones Inquilinarias y Rentas Justas, Razonables y Asequibles (the Law on Tenant Relations and Fair, Reasonable and Affordable Rents), according to El Universal.

The Congress of Mexico City organized the session in the Benito Juárez auditorium of the Zócalo building. The bill was sent to the local Congress by the city government. As described at the forum, it would tie rent increases to the inflation figure reported by Inegi (Mexico’s national statistics institute), even when a new tenant moves in.

What the landlords said

María Eugenia said renting out her apartment is a way of life for her family, not a business. Her son has a disability, and the rent is the household’s income. She objected to the inflation limit because it ignores the rising cost of keeping a property in shape. By her account, four liters of paint already cost her a thousand pesos, and she must change locks and repaint before each new tenant, with the building’s installations in perfect order.

She added that most people who rent in GAM and Venustiano Carranza, two Mexico City boroughs, give up a small part of their own home to do it, so they are not getting rich.

Emilio said he bought a property at 35 thanks to his work and help from relatives. He sympathizes with young people who struggle to find housing, but he opposes an inflation-only limit because it would allow no increase in real terms. He also said the debate seems to be growing more radical, and that he does not know where the middle ground the organizers talk about would lie.

Gustavo Moreno went further and called the regulation an attack on private property. He asked that the bill leave market values out of how rents are set.

What the tenants said

A younger participant said she had no chance to build up assets early in life, as another attendee had. She sees the bill as a way to secure housing for her generation. “Housing is a human right,” she said, adding that everyone is entitled to a decent home within their means.

Virginia López, who said she is elderly, called for a middle ground that does not hurt landlords or renters. She also urged the city government to offer low-cost rental housing for vulnerable people, and said the government should rent homes to older residents.

What the Congress member said

Alberto Martínez Urincho, a deputy from the governing Morena party, pointed to articles 17 and 18 of the initiative, which set out the rights and obligations of landlords. He described the matter as one of public interest that helps meet housing needs, and said the aim is a contractual balance that gives both sides legal certainty.

“Landlords’ right to property will not be affected,” he said, according to El Universal.

Why it matters for renters and owners

The inflation limit is the point of sharpest disagreement reported from the session. Owners who spoke say maintenance costs rise faster than the index and that an increase equal to inflation leaves them no real gain. Tenants who spoke frame the bill as a guarantee of housing rights. Because the proposal covers cases where the tenant changes, it would affect new leases as well as renewals, based on how speakers described it.

Speakers differed on whether the bill would bring balance. Martínez Urincho said it would, while Moreno and Emilio said it intervenes too much in a private arrangement.

What happens next

Martínez Urincho said the committee report, known as the dictamen, will include the constitutional and legal guarantees that apply, along with a mechanism for handling housing problems. No vote date was reported. Readers can follow the bill through the Congress of Mexico City, where the dialogue sessions are being held.

Source: El Universal