Coutinho backs Chan Meng Kam bill on rent control

Pereira Coutinho

Pereira Coutinho has pulled back his draft rent control bill as he ponders joining forces with fellow lawmaker Chan Meng Kam, who will be tabling a new piece of legislation aimed at implementing a rent increase cap on Macau’s domestic rental market.
“Several fellow lawmakers have called to ask me to pull back my draft as lawmaker Chan Meng Kam was planning to table a similar bill,” he told reporters ahead of a press conference yesterday.
In addition to a Rent Control Bill, Mr Coutinho tabled six other bills, which will be discussed and voted on by lawmakers in Monday’s plenary session.
“I will receive Chan Meng Kam’s draft this afternoon [yesterday], and after confirming that we will back their proposed bill, we will ask the AL president to withdraw our draft [from Monday’s discussion]. If the content of the bill is similar, we see no reason why we shouldn’t support it, because the main goal is to get the bill approved,” Mr Coutinho said at the press conference.
According to a Radio Macau report, Coutinho went even further to suggest that because he’s backing his fellow lawmaker’s draft, legislator Chan will support his Trade Union bill, which will be discussed and voted on during Monday’s session.
Pereira Coutinho believes that Chan’s influence in the AL and within the Executive Council increases the chances of getting the Rent Control Bill approved.
Mr Coutinho’s draft suggested governance for Macau’s domestic rental market through the implementation of a rent increase cap. The draft stated that a rent increase could only be requested two years after the signing of the contract, a rule that is already in place. However, it also suggested that an annual rent increase would be set up according to the consumer price index of the past 12 months.
Currently, Macau’s domestic rental market is regulated under the city’s Civil Code. Article 999 states that rents can be upgraded upon agreement between tenant and landlord; or due to essential renovation works. Rules governing the rent value stipulated in a rental contract can also be changed by court order, if the tenant requests it; this is usually when the rent value “is arbitrary or noticeably unreasonable.”
Meanwhile on Monday, lawmakers will be discussing a Trade Union bill submitted by Mr Coutinho for the sixth time. Last year in April, his fifth attempt to convince fellow lawmakers to pass a bill regulating trade unions and collective action failed.
Yesterday, he reiterated that a bill governing trade unions could allow for “a negotiation platform” between employees and employers, ensuring that both parties’ rights will be upheld.
Mr Coutinho stressed, “Currently we are seeing an unfair situation in which some gaming concessionaires terminate contracts with their employees without having a proper reason, and employees have no opportunity to discuss their contracts’ general terms.”
The lawmaker believes that his attempts to convince his colleagues to pass the Trade Union bill and other pieces of legislation have failed so far because “some of these bills go against the interests of most entrepreneurs sitting on the AL plenary.”
The lawmaker pledged to submit a trade union bill again next year in case the current draft is vetoed.
The AL plenary will be discussing and voting on other pieces of legislation submitted by Coutinho. Namely, these bills are to ensure the non-discrimination of employees based on gender and sexual orientation, the promotion of international treaties and conventions on human rights, and the preservation of Coloane’s green areas.
Pereira Coutinho stressed that, although most of these bills might not be approved, “We believe these pieces of legislation will be tabled by the government or by other colleagues sooner or later.” He concluded by saying that, “It’s a noble and important mission, and we promise to submit improved versions of these bills again if they’re not approved.”