President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih Thursday ratified the Residential Tenancy Act. The Bill was passed by the Parliament at the 31st sitting of its third session of this year, on Wednesday, 27th October, 2021.
The Residential Tenancy Bill is set to regularise the sector and to introduce requirements such as a legally prescribed procedure for renting residential properties, rights and obligations of landlords and tenants, protection of security deposits, and enforcement mechanisms to settle disputes related to residential tenancies.
The bill's legislative intent includes defining the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants of residential properties, establishing minimum standards for residential properties, establishing a procedure for renting residential properties, and establishing a mechanism to resolve residential property disputes quickly.
The bill states that the areas to be managed are private transactions in leasing houses for a living and transactions related to establishments assigned to individuals under government projects to provide housing.
Upon ratification, the Act has been published in the Government Gazette and has now come into effect.
With the ratification of the Residential Tenancy Act, section 28 of the Maldivian Land Act and all the provisions regarding residential tenancy in "Regulation on Leasing Dwellings and Buildings" will be repealed.
