Many tenants pay the same rent for several years although the landlord has the right to increase after 5 years according to the Kuwaiti rent law, but what happened during the Corona crisis was the exactly the opposite, as real estate owners showed their humanitarian side and reduced the rents ranging between 10 and 30 percent of the agreed value in consideration of what the country was going through, and some of them even let go the rent money for several months.
Here the question arises: How is the rent value of apartments in Kuwait determined? “Al-Rai” surveyed the opinions of real estate experts in this regard, who explained that apartment rental prices differ from one region to another, as they are based on the principle of supply and demand, in addition to the space and the quality of finishing and services, which make it more attractive than any other region.
They indicated that determining the rent of apartments in Kuwait is left to the free market, and the agreement between the two parties to the contract, noting that there are no laws that obligate real estate owners with specific rental values, or a certain ceiling, as Kuwait is a capitalist country.
They added saying, “We saw how the rise in vacant apartments during the past two years following the departure of thousands of expats in the country which saw the downward trend in apartment rents, after their index had been bullish for years, due to the high demand and outweighing supply.
They explained that Kuwait’s rents have rarely fallen, especially during the 2008 and “Corona” crises, attributing this to the small size of the country and the large number of expatriates, which outweighs the demand over supply.
They indicated that even with the state’s tendency to adjust the demographic structure, Kuwait still needs a large amount of supply to be reflected in rents downward, stressing that the decline in rental values can only come if vacant apartments are on the rise, which will not happen until after the liberation of lands and the involvement of the private sector in real estate development operations, and the construction of investment cities to accommodate large numbers of expatriates.
They pointed out that Article 11 of the Tenancy Law in Kuwait confirms that the agreed-upon rent in the lease contract is binding on the contracting parties and may not be amended except by their agreement or for reasons determined by law, including the demand for the same wage, or the passage of at least 5 years.
The lessee is not legally obligated to accept the modification made by the lessor at his own will, even if 5 years have passed since the determination of this rental value, because adhering to the same rent necessarily requires resorting to the competent court and obtaining a ruling to that effect.
In all cases, the difference between the applicable fare and the equivalent fare may not exceed 100 percent of the applicable fare.