Qatar could lower a cap on rent increases that landlords can charge by three percentage points to 7 per cent, the local Peninsula newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing a lawyer who said he had seen draft legislation.

The cap now is a maximum 10 per cent increase. Inflation in Qatar was 13.7 per cent in September, just off a record, as rents and accommodation costs surged.

The possible new cap would apply for two years and could become law this week, Jamal Al Nema said, according to the newspaper.

Qatari Finance Minister Youssef Hussein Kamal told Reuters last month the government was considering lowering the rent cap - which expires this month - as part of efforts to curb inflation.-Reuters