Cap. 16 Art. 1525Contract of letting and hiring may be madeverballyorin writing.

(1) A contract of letting and hiring, whether of things or of work and labour, may be made either verbally or in writing, provided that a contract of letting and hiring of urban property and of a residence and of a commercial tenement entered into after the

1st January, 2010 shall be in writing.

The Rent Regulation Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Rent Board") established under the Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation) Ordinance shall decide all matters affecting the leases of urban tenements including residential as well as commercial tenements including causes relating to the occupation of urban tenements where such leases have expired, and any damages resulting during such period of occupation. Other leases fall under the competence of the courts of civil jurisdiction while matters relating to agricultural leases shall fall under the competence of the Rural Leases Control Board appointed according to the provisions of the Agricultural Leases (Reletting) Act:

Provided that matters relating to the validity of a contract of lease, shall be examined by the courts of civil jurisdiction, so however,

*The transitory provisions relating to the amendments made to this Title by Act X of 2009 are reproduced at the end of this Chapter. that any other matter following the determination of such matters relating to validity shall fall under the competence of the Rent Board.

The Rent Board shall also have the competence to decide demands related to maintenance, repairs, defects and faults of the tenement including latent ones, damages or improvements, amounts due for water and electricity and any amount left by way of security deposit by the tenant, where such demands are included in other demands or pleas made before the Board, over which the Adjudicating Panel has no jurisdiction. The Rent Board has the authority to request information and documentation from government entities, departments and authorities as well as from any other entity to meet its functions as established in this Code.

(2) Unless otherwise specifically stated in this Title, the provisions of this Title shall not apply to agricultural leases which shall continue to be regulated by the provisions of the Agricultural Leases Reletting Act.

(3) For the purposes of this Title: "commercial tenement" means an urban tenement which is not a residence and which is leased to house an activity primarily intended to generate profit and includes, but is not limited to, an office, a clinic, a tenement leased out for the sale of merchandise by wholesale or retail, a market stall, a warehouse, a storage used for commercial purposes as well as any tenement licensed to sell things, wines, spirits or foodstuff or drinks, theatre, or tenement mainly used for any art, trade or profession: Provided that a tenement leased to a society or leased to a musical, philanthropic, social, sporting or political entity, that is used as a club, shall not be considered as a commercial tenement even if part of it is used for the purpose of generating profit; "club" means any club which is registered as such with the Commissioner of Policein accordance with the appropriate provisions of the law;

"private residential lease" means any long or short private residential lease, including the letting of shared residential space, which is entered into after 1st January, 2020, and any leases for a residential purpose entered into before the 1st January, 2020, which would still be in its original or renewed period on the 1st January, 2021.