The government has submitted a bill to the Parliament of the Maldives designed to bar immediate evictions without due notice over failure to pay rent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the bill drafted by the Attorney General’s Office (AG Office), the purpose of the bill is to prevent eviction, and ensure people are not rendered homeless over failure to pay rent following the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill dictates that in case where tenants fail to pay rent, the landlords must give a 2-month notice for tenants to vacate the building. The bill further prevents landlords from disconnecting utility services to the rental facilities. However, these measures shall only be taken in an approach that does not refrain landlords from their entitled rentals for all period of tenancy.
Furthermore, the bill requires the government to provide temporary shelters to all individuals who are without a place to stay after being impacted financially due to COVID-19. The details and standards of the temporary shelters have also been included in the bill formulated by AG Office.
In addition to offering temporary shelters, the bill also requires the government to provide food for people who do not have the means to acquire food due to COVID-19. The government has also been instructed to adopt a fair and a safe approach in providing food to the needful.
The bill further includes measures the government must take over people who lose employment due to COVID-19. In this regard, the employers have been required by the bill to offer special leaves, family leaves and other special leaves. Additionally, employers’ rights and employee rights, dismissal policies during the pandemic have also been detailed in the bill.
Moreover, the bill covers various other areas regarding policies and practices of the government due to COVID-19 pandemic including policies on easing taxes and how court hearings must be run via audio or video link.
The AG Office said the bill aims to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the country and support individuals, families and businesses in overcoming the situation. The AG Office further noted another reason for the bill is to ensure the governance system has provisional policies in place to continue all functions of the government.