Hiyaa payment reduced MVR 100,000; lease period cut

Urbanco’s managing director Fazul Rasheed says that with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s decision to discount MVR 200,000 from the lease payment for Hiyaa flats, the lease period has been shorted from 27 years to 26 years and three months.

President Muizzu had announced the decision to reduce MVR 200,000 from the total lease payment on Tuesday, a decision which he said will reduce the monthly rent to MVR 3,984.21 for the next seven years.

On Wednesday, Urbanco’s MD Fazul met with the press to share details of the decision. He said that the MVR 3,984.21 is exclusive of the monthly maintenance fee, and that the change will come into effect next month.

Fazul addressed complaints that the actual rent reduction falls short of MVR 200,000.

He said that MVR 100,000 will be reduced from the rent over the next seven years, another MVR 100,000 by cutting nine months from the lease period.

“MVR 100,000 will be reduced over the course of seven years. And as a result of the reduction of [the other] MVR 100,000, the lease agreements with Hiyaa tenants are revised to shorten [the lease period] from 27 years to 26 years and three months,” he said.

Fazul described it as a relief to Hiyaa tenants.

Hiyaa tenants were initially charged a monthly rent of MVR 8,500, including a maintenance fee. But in May, the monthly rent was reduced to MVR 6,300 for the next seven years.

The Housing Ministry said at the time that it wasn’t a lease reduction, but that the lease period was being extended from 25 to 27 years.