Pope Landlord I

Every Day Lawyers can concentrate their law practice in any area of law they choose.  The list of possibilities is huge.  My work is Wills and Estates, a nice, sane field of law, extremely helpful to everyday people.  One of the last areas I would ever pick, is Landlord/Tenant Law.  No one ever comes out of one of those disputes feeling like they “won” even if the Court ruled in their favor.  That is why it is so interesting that Pope Francis has changed the rules on living in Vatican owned properties. 

       For many years, housing in Vatican City (and in other properties outside the walls owned by the Church) was a perk given to high church officials and Cardinals.  Free Rent.   Imagine, free rent for a prime Rome location! The average rent for a “mini-apartment/closet with a bed” in Rome is $3,850.00 a month.

      On  March 1, a rescript signed by Pope Francis was published.   It said that Vatican properties are prohibited from offering leases, rentals or property use free-of-charge or at low-cost prices. This rescript is not just for show.  Pope Francis nixed any gratuitous discounts on rents as well.  With rent comes responsibilities for the Landlord, things like leaky ceilings and noisy neighbors.  I am not even going into Eviction proceedings.  If you are paying rent, you are going to want a standard of responsibility that most tenants expect when paying rent.  What if a tenant withholds rent until their expectations are met?  Just what does this new lease look like?  Does the Vatican have a new landlord tenant office within the Secretariat for the Economy under which this whole purview comes?  Does Pope Francis have any idea what he is getting Vatican City into?  The Code of Canon Law doesn’t have a section on Landlord/Tenant Law.  Does withholding rent constitute a delict (offense)?  How about being a bad Landlord?

          The new order applies to cardinals and top management personnel of offices of the Roman Curia, including the Roman Rota, a Vatican tribunal.  I know a few of the Auditors of the Roman Rota and they are not going to like this one bit.  Some have been serving the Curia for many years.  This is life changing for them and all the new “tenants”.  If a Rotal Auditor is a member of a Religious Order, there is usually an option for them to move into one of the Order’s religious houses in Rome rent free, so that is a small consolation for them.  The Pope explained his order by saying that the rent money would be important to the work of the Church. 

        The published rescript changing the rent rules concluded that any exceptions to the new rules would have to be personally approved by Pope Francis himself.  Again, does Pope Francis really know what he is getting himself into?