More Than MVR 370 Million Owed to HDC in Commercial Land Rent

More than MVR 370 million remain unpaid to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in outstanding rent for commercially leased land as of February 2026, according to the corporation.

Responding to an enquiry submitted by MV+ under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, HDC said a total of MVR 378,089,778.36 was owed in unpaid rent linked to 202 separate commercial land plots under the corporation’s management as of February this year.

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According to HDC, rent for 30 properties has remained unpaid for more than five years, while rent for 64 properties has been outstanding for between one and five years.

The corporation said the largest number of unpaid cases fell under arrears of less than one year, accounting for 108 properties.

Measures Taken Against Defaulters

HDC said it has introduced several measures to recover outstanding payments from property owners.

According to the corporation, these include:

• Providing leniency arrangements in accordance with policy upon request
• Sending monthly SMS reminders to settle dues
• Withholding due clearance reports and permit requests until payments are cleared
• Issuing payment notices every three months
• Updating Credit Information Bureau (CIB) reports submitted to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) on a monthly basis

HDC also stated that it has terminated agreements and imposed penalties in relation to unpaid rent, although it did not provide further details to MV+.

Previous Concerns Over Unpaid Housing Rent

The corporation has previously raised concerns over unpaid rent linked to government social housing units in Hulhumalé.

In May last year, HDC disclosed that tenants owed millions of Rufiyaa in unpaid rent across 8,511 social housing units in Hulhumalé Phase I and the Hiyaa Towers in Phase II.

At the time, HDC said the highest outstanding amount from a single housing unit exceeded MVR 1.1 million.

The corporation also noted that non-payment issues persisted despite rent reductions introduced for apartments in Hulhumalé Phase I, including an additional 20 percent discount for social housing units.