Former United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once said, "History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure."1
Recently, the Government of The Bahamas announced an ambitious rental assistance programme to assist tenants who have been economically affected by COVID-19 and are unable to satisfy their contractual obligation to pay rent. According to the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, tenants who qualify for the programme would have the following benefits during the months of April, May and June 20202:
- 40% of rental payment postponed
- tenants would have 12 months to pay back the 40% of postponed rent; and
- landlords would be barred from evicting tenants or disconnecting electricity or water supplies during such period.
In order to qualify for the programme, tenants must3:
- be a citizen or legal resident of The Bahamas;
- be renting a residential property and paying a monthly rent of $2,000.00 or less;
- provide proof that their employment or income stream has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- not have rental arrears prior to April 2020.
It should be noted that such programme has no impact on commercial leases or residential rentals over $2,000.00 per month. Thus, landlords in such circumstances could distrain for rent or proceed to have tenants evicted4.
EMERGENCY POWERS
As governments around the world grapple with the impact of COVID-19 and its legal implications, some legal pundits have...
