THE Fiji Commerce Commission says it is more than ready to enforce the Landlords and Tenants Act once the legislation is endorsed and passed in Parliament.

CEO Joel Abraham said after two rounds of national consultations, he was confident the proposed Act would address all landlord and tenant issues.

“We are in the final stages of a draft which will be submitted to the Solicitor-General’s Office, following which we expect that it will be tabled in Parliament and we will come up with a legislation which addresses all the issues,” he said.

Mr Abraham said at present, laws dealing with landlord and tenant issues were fragmented.

“If you’re talking about rental fees, it is under the Fair Rents Act, if you’re talking about rental receipts, agreements or increase of rent, it is under the Commerce Commission.

“If you’re talking about the quality of the house you are staying in, it is under the Public Health Act, if you’re talking about tenants not paying rent on time, it is under the Distress of Rent Act. The laws, as they are today, are all over the place.

“The Fijian Government does not believe in passing people around like a rugby ball where you have to go from one agency to another to address issues.

“What we want is a one-stop solution to all the landlords and tenants problems and we intend to fix this with this historic piece of legislation.

“Once it is tabled and goes through Parliament, the Parliament will decide on who enforces the legislation.

“If it comes back to the Commerce Commission, we are more than happy to do it because we have been enforcing parts of it for the last seven years.”