Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has stated that imposing rent control could be detrimental to the country's economy.
During the 'Ask Speaker' live program broadcast on Saturday, former president Nasheed was asked if he considered imposing a cap on rent of apartments in capital Male'. The exceedingly high rents of Male' city apartments have been a cause of concern for those living in the city.
In his response, Nasheed said main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) does not intend to meddle with such markets. Nasheed said the rent of Male' city buildings are high due to demand, and that rent can only be brought down if a sufficient amount of buildings and more are available to meet the needs of the residents of the city.
Nasheed said controlling the rent would have a negative impact on the economy, and that the experiences of other countries that attempted to impose a cap on rents have not been positive.
"We try not to meddle with the markets if possible. Rent is based on the number of people who require buildings, and how many buildings are available. The rents are high now due to lack of available buildings to meet the needs of those requiring apartments. The rent will come down when there are more buildings than those that require them. If we meddle and impose a certain rent, it will affect the economy in many ways. It will damage the economy, as well as the state of the country. We do not see positive results coming out of efforts to control rent," said Nasheed.
The demand on buildings is inversely proportional to bringing down rent, said Nasheed.
