《TAIPEI TIMES》 Proposed amendments provide rules for subletters

By Chung Li-hua, Hsu Yi-ping, and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of the Interior on Friday published a preview of amendments to the Regulations to Standardize Subletting Contracts （住宅轉租定型化契約應記載及不得記載事項） that would ban subletters from forbidding tenants to apply for rental housing subsidies from the government.

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The new regulations also would ban subletters from overcharging for electricity, the ministry said, adding the new rules aim to better protect tenants’ rights.

About 700,000 to 870,000 people living in rental units are expected to benefit from the new rules, the ministry said, citing data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

The amendments target subletters, whereas amendments to the Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of Standard Form Contract for Housing Rental （住宅租賃定型化契約應記載及不得記載事項）, which took effect on July 15, are aimed at landlords who rent directly to tenants.

The amendments to the Regulations to Standardize Subletting Contracts regulate how subletters charge for electricity.

Subletters must provide tenants with a means of monitoring power use, and subletters who are proven to have overcharged tenants can be fined up to NT$300,000, the amendments state.

If subletters wish to charge tenants for power from public facilities and all residents have agreed to share the cost, they have an obligation to understand the complex methodology of how such power fees are shared, the amendments state.

Subletters should work with other residents within the building to clarify issues, such as by setting up independent electricity meters, before they can begin charging their tenants, they say.

Tenants could file a complaint with their local government’s consumer protection or land administration unit regarding any contraventions of the rules, the ministry said.

Subletters who fail to rectify contraventions would be fined NT$30,000 to NT$300,000, it said, adding that if they fail to solve the issue a third time, they could be fined NT$50,000 to NT$500,000.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES