With reports of landlords attempting to defraud the State and benefit from social assistance during this COVID-19 pandemic, the Progressive Party is calling on government to reinstate the Rental Assistance Board (RAB).

In a statement on Sunday, the party said since the RAB was dissolved in 2002, thousands of renters have become vulnerable and exposed to advantageous rental prices, dilapidated facilities, lapsed rental agreements and illegal evictions as they continue to be oblivious to their forms of recourse.

The Progressive Party lamented that it is no secret that the real estate or rental market is a lucrative sector and many landlords engage in prices hikes parallel to tax evasion and tax avoidance which “starves the country of resources that can be used to cater to the needs of the most vulnerable in society.”

It said government must move swiftly to provide protections to renters who have suffered in unsafe and financially unfair scenarios, adding that  “landlords must be held accountable and must also pay their fair share in taxes for the properties they rent.”