Webinar Held on the Impact Assessment of the Residential Tenancy Law
The Residential Tenancy Law has overall contributed to the development of the rental market in Latvia. This conclusion was drawn following an ex-post impact assessment of the law.
On May 29, the State Chancellery, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics, organized a seminar on the impact assessment of the Residential Tenancy Law. The seminar brought together housing policy makers, municipal representatives, and entrepreneurs to not only discuss the law's implementation so far but also outline concrete steps for its improvement and more effective implementation in the future.
The Residential Tenancy Law came into force on May 1, 2021, and its ex-post evaluation was carried out at the initiative of the State Chancellery in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics. The evaluation assessed the actual impact of the law between October 2024 and April 2025. Overall, the law has fostered the development of the rental market in Latvia. However, as the transition period of the law has not yet concluded, it is still too early to fully evaluate the balance between the rights of tenants and landlords.
Although ex-post evaluations of legal acts are not yet a routine practice in Latvia, this case demonstrates their importance. "Such evaluations allow for an objective analysis of whether the laws achieve their goals and how they affect target groups, as well as help identify necessary improvements in legal norms or their application. This, in turn, enhances the quality of legal regulations and helps reduce bureaucratic burdens," noted Ilona Anna Eklona, Head of the Public Administration Policy Department of the State Chancellery.
The Ministry of Economics, based on the evaluation’s findings, emphasized that it has been possible to determine the law’s initial impact and identify the key problems that have emerged in practice. Some of these issues relate to the interpretation of the legal provisions, such as the termination of contracts or the accommodation of family members.
"The ex-post evaluation confirms that the Residential Tenancy Law is steering the rental market toward sustainable development. At the same time, we see that there is still room for clearer regulation regarding municipal support in ensuring housing availability. We are currently working on a new Affordable Housing Law, which will provide a unified framework for all types of support and their delivery, clearly distinguishing when and how each law applies," said Mārtiņš Auders, Director of the Housing Policy Department at the Ministry of Economics.
To address problematic situations, it is recommended to carry out more extensive explanatory work, clarifying the legal basis of the law’s provisions and explaining intended application practices. This is particularly important for ensuring correct implementation in cases involving municipal rental housing. Moreover, in drafting new laws on municipal housing support, the Ministry of Economics will need to revise provisions that affect the application of the Residential Tenancy Law, according to Oksana Žabko, Lead Researcher at the Baltic Institute of Social Sciences.
During the seminar, specific recommendations were discussed. One of the most important was the need to clarify the transitional provisions of the Residential Tenancy Law to clearly distinguish contracts concluded within the framework of municipal support from those concluded outside it. The issue of setting time limits for rental contracts was also raised, emphasizing that housing support should be provided for as long as needed, and that such time limits should not become a barrier.
Another key issue highlighted during the seminar was tenants’ rights to accommodate family members in their rented homes. It was explained that the legislator intentionally extended these rights to include both adult and minor children.
The State Chancellery will continue to develop the practice of ex-post evaluations of legal acts in Latvia, offering support to other ministries in assessing high-impact laws and creating guidelines for conducting such evaluations.
Photo: State Chancellery
