Home page

News

History

Dhivehi

Maps

Fanditha

Glossary

Links

Zipped

E-mail

Huge profits are made by the owners of Malé's many rented rooms, houses and guesthouses.

Should they be allowed to rent these places and make money without any consideration or care?

The landlord must keep a close eye on the people who frequent rented rooms and the activities that occur there.

Some people might say that monitoring places in this way is an invasion of the privacy of the tenants!

'It is the responsibility of the landlord to check for suspicious activity in a rented room,' says the Assistant Commissioner of Police, First Lieutenant Mohamed Sadiq. 'Landlords have the authority to question visitors.'

The police have noticed that offences related to drugtaking and other illegal activities often occur in rented rooms. Large groups will use such rooms for parties where drug dealing and use takes place.

Fourteen foreigners who smuggled in drugs valued at Rf300,000 [ US$25,500, official rate; US$20,500, black market rate ] were dealing in a room rented from a Maldivian.

A Malé guesthouse was also found to have foreign prostitutes working there, contrary to the laws of Maldives and Islam. The premises were rented from the owner by another person who then organised three women from a neighbouring country to work as prostitutes. If the landlord had checked what was happening from the beginning then the pimp would not have been able to hire the women.

'Landlords must be careful when renting. Checking the character of their tenants and the activites they are involved in,' says Sadiq.

Landlords often don't care about what goes happens on their property, as long as the rent is paid. Nobody cares, regardless of any shocking acts being committed there. With these changing times, people's attitudes have also changed and more and more people are committing inappropriate acts. Some of these things are occurring in rented rooms.

'As soon as there is any suspicion that acts contrary to the law of Maldives and Islam are taking place, landlords must act quickly,' says Sadiq. 'By the time the matter comes to the notice of the police it has gone from bad to worse, and many people are affected.'

Rooms are often hired on a daily basis in Malé, because people who work in resorts and come to the capital for a few days prefer to rent this way.

However it is important to get the personal details of the occupants of these rooms because there is always the possibility of people giving a false identity. When the tenants leave, the room should be checked thoroughly as well.

'If a foreigner rents a room for the monthly rate of Rf5,000 [ US$425, official rate; US$350, black market rate ] and is using a cellular phone, there's reason for suspicion. Especially if he doesn't seem to be employed.'

There must be a close relationship between the landlord and the tenant, so the rooms can be monitored. Landlords should not allow any opportunity for offences to be committed. Income and profit should not be the only matters involved, the laws of Maldives and Islam must also be upheld.

top