MANILA, Philippines -- Two lawmakers at the House of Representatives are leading moves to cushion tenants against exorbitant rent increases after the rent control law has lapsed.

In filing House Bill 5703, Speaker Prospero Nograles and Oriental Mindoro Representative Rodolfo Valencia stressed the need to pass a new law "that will regulate the rental of dwelling units" following the lapse of Republic Act 9431 or the Rent Control Act of 2005 in December 2008.

According to the bill's authors, the law will provide "social safety nets" to some 1.5 million families who do are renting.

The proposed measure sets a 10 percent cap for units being rented out for not more than P10,000 a month in Metro Manila and highly urbanized cities, and not more than P5,000 in other parts of the country.

The measure will be effective for three years or until 2012 when it is approved.

It disallows the lessors or landlords from collecting more than one month advance rent and more than two months deposit, which will be kept in an account under the lessor's name and which will be used to pay for unsettled utility bills or repairs for damage to the unit, if any.

Under the bill, "no lessor or his successor-in-interest shall be entitled to eject the lessee upon the ground that the leased premises have been sold or mortgaged to a third person regardless of whether the lease or mortgage is registered or not."