Mexico City Head Brugada Presents Fair Rents Reform

ByManuel Cosme

This article by Manuel Cosme originally appeared in the April 22, 2026 edition of El Sol de México.

The head of the Mexico City government, Clara Brugada Molina, will send her constitutional reform initiative on rents to the local Congress in Mexico City, where two million people pay rent for a home.

In this context, Brugada responded to those who say that the intention of the reform is to affect private property, pointing out that this statement seeks to deceive the residents of the capital, since the objective is to provide legal certainty.

The proposal is envisioned in two stages: The first seeks to elevate the principles of “fair, reasonable and affordable rents” to constitutional status, in order to grant them greater legal protection, while the second phase envisions the submission of a secondary law that regulates the rental market.

The proposal brings to the local Magna Carta, firstly, the issue that rents will in no way rise above inflation; also that the capital administration assume the obligation to articulate a comprehensive policy to significantly increase the supply of social and affordable housing, as well as the mechanisms of access to it, particularly for young people and sectors with lesser resources.

The second objective of the initiative is for the authorities of Mexico City to expand their land reserve, as well as the acquisition of land for the production of social housing.

The third pillar of the initiative proposes incorporating into the Constitution the creation of a public institution responsible for the promotion and defense of the rights and obligations of tenant relations.

This institution will be responsible for defending the rights of both landlords and tenants. The goal is to build fair, balanced, and secure landlord-tenant relationships for all parties.

In the fourth and final axis, the Constitution of CDMX will recognize as a new right of the inhabitants of the city the neighbourhood and community roots, the social, cultural, economic and territorial link, and the permanence where they have developed their life projects.

Juan Pablo de Botton Falcón, Secretary of Administration and Finance, pointed out that the initiative proposes to reform Article 9 of the local Magna Carta, in its section Right to Housing , to include a sixth point stipulating that in order to strengthen the right to adequate housing, to neighbourhood roots, reduce territorial inequalities, as well as build fair and balanced tenant relations, the City Government will implement a comprehensive housing policy to significantly increase the supply of social and affordable housing, as well as mechanisms for access to it; in particular, for youth populations and priority groups.

Likewise, in residential property lease agreements, the rent may not be increased annually beyond the inflation of the previous year reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

The official also commented that the modification of that constitutional precept is so that the city government can permanently expand its land reserve, to guarantee the right to adequate and affordable housing through the acquisition of land.

Regarding the right to neighborhood and community roots, the inhabitants of Mexico City will have the right to neighborhood and community roots; to the social, cultural, economic and territorial bond, as well as to remain where they have developed their life projects, for which reason the capital government will implement a public policy against gentrification and in favor of neighborhood and community roots.