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Protecting defaulting tenants in Mexico City

Mexico City's Human Rights Commission has asked the Supreme Court to protect debtors

In Mexico City, before a tenant is evicted, they face to face a trial that can last for years - Photo: Courtesy of the CDHDF
28/11/2019 |09:28
Redacción El Universal
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Mexico City

's Human Rights Commission , through its president , , has asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the city's 60th article established in the Human Rights Law, which deals with the eviction of .

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Nashieli Ramírez

is looking to overrule a reform approved by Congress in June 2019. It established that evictions should be preceded by a warrant that guarantees the occupants the right to a trial and privileges a settlement between both parties. According to Ramírez Hernández , the reform implemented in June does not comply with international norms and does not prevent or punishes violent evictions , which she considers as a threat to health and personal integrity .

Nashieli Ramírez

claims that the previous article established respect for the tenants on trial . Now she is requesting compensation when their property is damaged or stolen during the eviction , as well as their immediate relocation and their inclusion to government housing programs .

For this, she proposes a socioeconomic study to asses the economic capacity of a person to pay rent , as well as guarantees offered by the local government not to evict as long as authorities don't find a similar home located less than 15 kilometers away from the property in dispute.

It is true that any government hopes to guarantee the right to have a home to its citizens, but this shouldn't favor the deterioration of a private property owned by a third party who had previously signed a contract with the debtor .

Let's not forget that both parties previously established a contract to rent a property and the tenant also has obligations to fulfill but when this is not the case, this causes several problems to the homeowner because they have invested resources on a property that was supposed to generate an income and also has to pay .

Therefore, favoring debtors violates the rights of landlords . This legal jargon deserves an in-depth analysis.

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