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The President of the Republic refused to promulgate amendments to the Dwelling Act concerning rent ceiling30.06.2004
President Arnold Rüütel today at Kadriorg signed a resolution not to promulgate, on the basis of § 107 of the Constitution, the Act on Amendments to the Dwelling Act and to § 12 1 of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act passed by the Riigikogu on 15 June 2004.
President Rüütel in his resolution noted that the will of the lawmaker to abolish restrictions on ownership concerning maximum rates for rent existent in the effective law, due to which owners of residential real estate were in unequal positions, was comprehensible. However, the Head of State pointed out that the stipulated date of entry into force of the passed act left those affected by it too little time to adjust their activities to the new situation, which did not comply with the principle of legal certainty laid down in § 10 of the Constitution. Observance of legal certainty, however, required that, while enacting new regulations, those affected be given reasonable time to rearrange their activities.
The President of the Republic also referred to the need to bear in mind that when the act took effect the existing social welfare system had to guarantee to the full extent people's right to housing, which was an issue dealt with by international law, too.
President Rüütel in his resolution made to the Riigikogu a proposal to reconsider the act and to bring it into conformity with the Constitution. The Head of State emphasised that in order to solve problems having emerged in the course of ownership reform, complex and balanced measures taking into account the interests of both landlords and tenants needed to be worked out, and the goals set when passing the Principles of Ownership Reform Act (§ 2) were to be fully realised.
You can find the resolution of the President of the Republic on his homepage at www.president.ee
The Resolution of the President of the Republic No. 671 of 30 June 2004 runs as follows:
"I refuse to promulgate the Act on Amendments to the Dwelling Act and to § 12 1 of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act passed by the Riigikogu on 15 June 2004.
By the above act, the regulation laid down in § 37 1, subsection 2, of the Dwelling Act, which stipulates that the maximum rate for rent enacted by a local government council shall apply to all dwelling units on its administrative territory restituted on the basis of § 12 1 of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act, would be abrogated. The desire of the legislator to abolish restrictions on ownership set out in the effective law by this provision, due to which owners of residential real estate are in unequal positions, and which at present is an unproportional measure, is comprehensible.
The amendments provided for by the Act on Amendments to the Dwelling Act and to § 12 1 of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act are supposed to take effect as of September 1, 2004. The stipulated term does not comply with the legal certainty deriving from the principle of the social and democratic rule of law enshrined in § 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. The observance of legal certainty requires that reasonable time be stipulated for new regulations to take effect in order to enable those affected to rearrange their activities under new conditions. For that purpose, a period of less than two months is too short.
Furthermore, with implementation of the act, the existing social welfare system would not to full extent guarantee the right to housing enshrined in Article 25 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Article 11 (1) of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (RT II 1993, 10/11, 13), and deriving from the spirit of § 28 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia.
The solution of the problems emerged in the course of ownership reform requires elaboration of complex and balanced measures taking into account the interests of both landlords and tenants. In order to bring the Act on Amendments to the Dwelling Act and to § 12 1 of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act into conformity with the Constitution, to assess its implications and to design relevant measures, I propose to the Riigikogu to reconsider and redecide this act.
On the basis of: § 107 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia."
Public Relations Unit of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, June 30, 2004
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