News

Mya Quamie

39 Minutes Ago

Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo – File Photo

Although some landlords are hoping to keep prices manageable, renters told Newsday they are bracing for impact as a 2.5-3.5 per cent tax on rental income is set to begin January 1, 2026.

The tax will apply to rental incomes of $20,000 or more, and the one-time $2,500 registration fee is expected to earn the government $70 million. The measures were announced in the 2026 national budget presented by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo on October 13.

“It will fall on the renter because the landlord will claim that it cuts into their profits,” one Cumuto renter told Newsday on X.

“They’ll say they need to survive and maintain the property, even though they don’t maintain the properties well. It’s going to make the quality of life for renters poorer.”

San Juan renter Avi-Mae Shaw also agreed, “I can already hear people quarrelling about how are they supposed to make their money with this surcharge.”

But landlords, who wished to remain anonymous, told Newsday that while the price hike is inevitable, they will try to keep rent prices reasonable come 2026.

Currently advertised for $1,700, one landlord in San Juan said the price of the unfurnished, one-bedroom apartment should not increase by more than $150.

An unfurnished, two-bedroom apartment priced at $3,000 could go up to $3,300, another landlord said. He told Newsday on October 19 that the increases are necessary for landlords, “But we still have a responsibility to keep it manageable.”

Another landlord said the price of his three-bedroom apartment, advertised at $6,000 furnished and $4,000 unfurnished, could increase by approximately $200.

Although unsure of how his prices would change, one Belmont landlord in her late 30s said she disapproved of the measure. “As a young landlord who tries very hard to keep my rent rates as affordable as I can, this makes it a little bit more difficult to make books balance when rent prices are just basically covering bills.

“It is going to affect low-income rentals, because I can see other low-income rental property landlords like myself needing to be able to then cover this new surcharge.”

However, one retired couple told Newsday they had no intention of raising the price of the furnished, one-bedroom apartment advertised at $3,000.

“That is not going to affect us, my wife and I have a heart for people because things are hard for people, they are really hard, so we will not raise no rent.”

Tancoo told the media the surcharge was implemented to ensure that, “everybody to bear a fair percentage of taking the country forward.”

“Development costs,” he said.

“I’m trying to get them to be shared across the board, across every aspect of society.”

He acknowledged the risk of the cost being passed on to consumers and said, “I am asking consumers to pay attention. If a bank raises their rates based on the taxes that are coming now, go to another bank, move to a credit union, we have options.

“If a landlord passes on the charge, because they are now going to be faced with a charge and are passing it on, find a next place to live.”

When asked what would happen if all banks and landlords raised their charges, he said, “There are continuous options. Remember what I’m saying, we are trying to balance people’s needs with the nation’s wants. There are things we must do. We have inherited a situation that is really atrociously bad, and we are trying to fix it in instalments, in parts, and the budget is part of that.

“What is required is some sharing of the burden. I see people beating down on the landlord business surcharge, the asset levy, those figures are very small.

Noting concerns from renters about exploitative rates by landlords, Tancoo said the creation of a rent board is a must.

“Right now we have multiple tenants telling us that landlords are abusing them, taking advantage and so on. There used to be a rent assessment board, we will have to go back to a similar type of organisation to make sure that there’s a good and harmonious relationship between landlords and tenants.”

With reporting by Paula Lindo