The law of Ecuador is moderately PRO-TENANT. The rights granted to the tenant by law cannot be waived.
Rents: Can tenants and property owners freely agree to rents in Ecuador? buy apartment qatar
The initial rent between the landlord and landlord can be agreed with only one restriction. The rent registry for each city determines maximum rent by calculating the twelfth part of the business cost of each property set by each municipal council.
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In normal circumstances, contractually agreed rents cannot be increased until the end of the contractual term. However, before the registry of rents, the landlord can apply for a rent increase if the property has been improved or has passed two years since the last rent was agreed between the parties.
The law does not allow rent increases due to higher living costs.
Deposits
Security deposits as well as rental deposits are commonly used as tools for tenancy contracts, although there is no reference to the concept of security deposits by Ecuadorian tenancy law.
What rights do landlords and tenants have in Ecuador, especially as regards contract duration and expulsion?
The minimum rental contract duration is two years. Three exceptions to this rule exist:
If a person rents a room in a hotel or somewhere in the same business line;
When a person and/or a family must move temporarily from one city or city to another;
If the property is rented to organize an exhibition, exhibition or any other event of short duration by nature.
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If the landlord does not want to renew the contract, the tenant must be notified 90 days in advance. The contract will automatically be extended for another year if such notification is not given. After this one-year extension has expired, either landlord or tenant may end the contract by notifying the other party that it intends to terminate the contract with a month in advance of the expected effective day of termination.
The law states that both parties must comply with the duration agreed in tenancy contracts. However, the landlord may terminate the contract on certain specific grounds before the agreed term:
If the tenant is two periods late, when the landlord suits the tenant;
When there is a serious risk of destruction of the rented building area;
Where the tenant is insulting or chaotic;
If the tenant uses the property for any unlawful purpose or for any purpose different from that agreed by contract;
When the tenant damages the building or its facilities and does not repair immediately;
Where the landlord leases or sells property without the permission of the landlord;
When the landlord works on a property that the landlord has not authorized;
When the landlord decides to demolish the building to build a new building. In this case, the tenant must be notified of his expulsion within three months of the scheduled date of demolition;
If the landlord decides to move to the property, if he has no other property;
When the landlord sells the land. In this case the landlord must notify the landlord at least three months before expulsion;
The tenant may only terminate the contract at his will if the contract does not specify a terms or if the contract is verbal (not written); the tenant shall notify him in a month of its intention to terminate the contract before his departure date.
Legislation
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The applicable law for tenancy agreements relating to property in urban areas is the tenancy law (Ley de Inquilinato, R.O. 196, of Nov. 1st, 2000). The law applicable to urban property and rural property tenancy contracts is the Civil Code (R.O. Sup. 46, of 24 June 2005) and the Code of Civil Procedure (R.O. Sup. 58, July 12, 2005).
How effective is the legal system in Ecuador?
Special tenancy courts in towns and civil courts in any other part of the country shall solve tenancy disputes. These disputes are resolved through a summary process that is actually as slow as the ordinary process. On average, if no appeal is received, a dispute before the tenancy court will last from 6 to 10 months and up to a year and a half if the appeal is received.
Short history: Ecuadorian landlord and tenant law has recently been changed
The present Ecuadorian Tenantship Law is the result of reforms and minor modifications to the 1972 law. The spirit of both documents is to provide all citizens with living facilities. Some critics argue that the current law is not enough to protect the disadvantaged.