Monday
23rd Dec 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has begun to charge tenants of Hiyaa flats monthly rents, following the expiration of grace periods.
Several hundred families have already moved into the Hiyaa flats. HDC is presently charging flat owners MVR 7,000 (US$ 452.78) per month. With the maintenance fee, Hiyaa flat tenants are now paying MVR 8,500 (US$ 549.81) per month.
HDC had granted a three-month grace period for flat owners to finish refurbishing their flats in December 2021. An announcement by the company back then said the rent will kick in once the grace period was over.
HDC on Sunday said they will be accepting rent in cash, cheque, and online via the corporation’s MyHulhumale’ webportal at (https://my.hdc.com.mv). Presently, only BML cards can be used for payments via the webportal. A special counter has been established in HDC premises for cheque and cash payments.
Tenants of Hiyaa flats have expressed their concerns over HDC’s decision. They had filed multiple appeals with HDC and relevant authorities to extend the period given to finish their flats.
Hiyaa housing scheme was started under former President Abdullah Yameen. Under the project, 7,000 flats were created to bring an end to the housing issues faced in greater Male’ region. The initial rent for one flat was set at MVR 6,500 (US$ 420.44).
However, when the administration changed, the present administration had stalled the handover, and in the end, had not taken into account the financial pressures the owners had faced due to the pandemic.