MANILA, Philippines—With the global financial crisis threatening to drive up the prices of everything, House Speaker Prospero Nograles has filed a bill for a new rent control law lasting three years to replace the one that lapsed December 31, 2008.

In his bill filed Monday afternoon, Nograles said there was a need to help low-income people maintain or get roofs over their heads by regulating rent, especially since they are still recovering from the effects of high fuel prices in 2008.

Consumers are also bracing themselves for the full effect of the worldwide economic crunch expected to be felt in full force this year, he added.

The absence of a rent control law gives rise to threats of exorbitant rental fees.

"Amid all these, the gains already achieved by the government in poverty reduction is undermined and the most vulnerable victims are the marginalized and the low-income earning Filipinos many of who do not have yet a roof over their heads that they can call their own. There is an urgent need, therefore, for the government to strengthen social safety nets through targeted support for them," he said in his explanatory note to the bill.

The proposed law, introduced by both Nograles and Oriental Mindoro Representative Rodolfo Valencia, would cover residences in the National Capital Region and other highly urbanized cities the monthly rent for which does not exceed P10,000, and all residential areas in other areas the rent for which does not exceed P5,000.

It would take effect until 2012.

Under the bill, the rent on any residential unit could not be increased by more than 10 percent in a year as long as it is being used by the same lessee. It is only when the dwelling becomes vacant that the owner could set the initial rent for the next occupant.

It also states that the rent should be paid in advance within the first five days of every current month or the beginning of the lease agreement.

The lessor would also be prohibited from demanding more than one month advance rent or more than two months' deposit.

The deposit should be kept in a bank while the lease agreement is in effect, and the interest should be returned to the lessee when the contract expires.

Occupants of the rented space may only be evicted if they fail to pay their rent for three months, if the contract expires, if they sublease the space without permission of the owner, and if the owner has a legitimate need to repossess the property, provided that the lessee was notified three months in advance and the owner his prohibited from renting out the place for one year since the repossession.

The lessors are also prohibited from ejecting the lessees on the ground that the place has been sold to a third party.