The Senegalese government is authorised to adopt a decree to enforce the reduction of rent prices in the country. Instead of a law, the Constitutional Council gave Macky Sall the green light to issue decrees and other relevant regulations in this regard.
The initiative to lower the price of rents aims to give a boost to Senegalese citizens in the face of the high cost of living and to increase their purchasing power. In the coming days, tenants will be able to benefit from a reduction in the price of their rent. This involves a 5% reduction for rents over 500,000 CFA francs, a 10% reduction for rents between 300,000 CFA francs and 500,000 CFA francs, and a 20% reduction for rents of 300,000 CFA francs or less. But President Macky Sall had opted for a law in parliament on lowering rents. The latest news is that on 26 January, the Government referred the 2014 law to the Constitutional Council for “delegalisation”.
Thus, on 31 January, the Supreme Judges authorised the President of the Republic to sign the decree instituting the reduction of rental prices, several local media reported. According to the seven wise men of the Council, the Government’s request is based on Article 76 of the Constitution, which stipulates that: “Matters that do not fall within the legislative domain, by virtue of the present Constitution, have a regulatory character”.
Considering that article 1 of the organic law n°2016-23 of 14 July 2016 gives competence to the Constitutional Council to rule on “the regulatory nature of provisions of legislative form (…)”, the seven (7) wise men decided that the referral of the government is admissible. The fathers of all Senegalese laws further argue that the modalities of fixation of rent fall within the regulatory domain by virtue of articles 67 and 76 of the Constitution and 572 of the law establishing the Code of Civil and Commercial Obligations.
