Urbanco said on Tuesday that most of the residents of Hiyaa flats in Hulhumalé do not pay rent.
According to the information sheet shared by the company for queries filed by Mihaaru News under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, only 2,273 out of 6,385 residential apartments in Hiyaa flats are currently paying rent. This accounts for only 35.5 percent of the total population obligated to pay rent.
According to Urbanco data, 805 families have not paid any rent.
Urbanco reported that they have generated MVR 480 million from the Hiyaa flats project. However, there is still an outstanding amount of MVR 281 million that remains unpaid.
Residents have been living in the Hiyaa flats since April 2022, which were constructed during former President Abdulla Yameen's administration. Initially, the monthly rent for each apartment, including a maintenance fee, was MVR 8,500. However, starting from June, the rent has been reduced to MVR 6,300 for the next seven years.
The issue of non-payment of rent for government housing projects, including the Hiyaa flats, has been a persistent concern. Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam has has also expressed concern over the substantial losses incurred by the government due to these unpaid rents in social housing projects.
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