WILLEMSTAD - The Court has issued a ruling compelling tenants of social housing entity FKP with significant rent arrears to settle their debts. This ruling imposes strict obligations on tenants and aims to address the growing problem of rent arrears at the housing foundation.
FKP manages about five thousand homes in Curaçao and has over eight thousand people on its waiting list. Approximately half of the tenants do not meet their payment obligations.
The Court's ruling stipulates that tenants must pay their overdue rent, but the enforceability of this debt is suspended as long as tenants adhere to certain obligations. Tenants must pay an additional 25 percent of the rent monthly to settle the arrears. Additionally, tenants must authorize FKP to initiate collection through their employer or bank if necessary. If the tenant does not provide this authorization, FKP is allowed to proceed with the collection itself.
Furthermore, the ruling states that the lease agreement will be terminated and the tenant must vacate the property if the rent and the 25 percent increase are not paid within three weeks from the first day of the month. If the tenant meets these obligations for eight years, the remaining rent debt will be forgiven.
The Court emphasized that as long as FKP does not actually proceed with evictions, the problem will persist. It appears that tenants often pay only when the bailiff arrives for eviction. However, this does not happen frequently because FKP rarely carries out evictions, leading to substantial arrears which FKP has partly contributed to.
According to the Court, it is unacceptable that nearly 2,500 tenants do not pay as they should while over eight thousand people are waiting for a rental home. This is also unfair to the FKP tenants who struggle to pay their rent.
The lawyers and FKP have the opportunity to respond to the Court's proposal on August 27. They must indicate their views on the proposed measures and the steps they are willing to take to improve the situation.