The Residential Tenancy Act has been ratified.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the act on Thursday, upon which it has been publicized in the government gazette.

The act, which comes into immediate effect, received parliamentary approval at the 31st sitting of the third session of 2021, on October 27.

Upon ratification, all provisions regarding residential tenancy in "Regulation on Leasing Dwellings and Buildings” alongside Section 28 of the Maldivian Land Act will be annulled.

The Residential Tenancy Act carries the purpose to normalize 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 as well as the enforcement of mechanisms to settle disputes related to residential tenancies.

Further, the act states that the areas to be managed are private transactions in leasing houses for a living as well as transactions related to establishments assigned to individuals under government projects to provide housing.

Defining the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants of residential properties, the establishment of minimum standards for residential properties, a procedure under which residential properties may be rested and a mechanism to resolve residential property disputes quickly are also included in the act’s legislative intent.