Property | Realtor claims rental transactions will halve

The region’s new rental bill came into effect on Sunday and some of the opinions voiced from the real estate sector have projected that it will result in a decrease in the number of house rental transactions.

The new rental bill mandates an extension by an additional year to the city’s current minimum of two-year rental contracts. Another change postulates that all rental contracts must be put into written form, with signatures acknowledged by a notary.

The Senior Director of Centaline (Macau), Shi Baode, said that Macau’s “three-year       minimum
rental contract” is slightly long because, in the property market, within a period of three years, significant changes can happen and, besides, “Macau’s rental market is basically not that active.”

Shi commented, saying “we all know that there is a comparatively high ratio of Macau people buying properties. If more restrictions are imposed over the regulations, [I think] it is indubitable that this will lead to even fewer rental transactions in the rental market.”

Shi expects rental transactions to decrease by 50 percent this year, when compared to 2017. He also believes that there will be a rise in rents. 

Lam U Tou, president of the Association of Synergy of Macao, believes the new rental law does not feature significant differences compared to the previous rental bill.

In Lam’s opinion, the government is not giving the public enough time to adapt to the new law.

“There was half a year [between the bill being passed and coming into effect]; the [government] should have provided enough information so as to prepare [the public for the bill’s implementation]. At least, the publicity [campaign] should have been out by now,” said Lam.

“I think that there are some problems with the bill’s implementation [because there is a lack of promotion], and that [the promotion] is not enough,” adding that there must be a maximum rental adjustment rate. Lam believes a maximum rental adjustment rate will be helpful for the city’s rental market.

The controversial bill was criticized by real estate associations, who claimed it unfairly gives advantages to tenants at the expense of owners.