The Maldives Government has on 8th November 2023 introduced the first amendments to the 2022 tourism land rent regulation, ‘Regulation on the Payment of Land Rent to the Government for Islands, Lagoons and Lands Leased for Tourism Purposes’ (Regulation No: R-33/2022) (“Land Rent Regulation”) governing various aspects of the calculation and payment of land rent and fines. The ‘First Amendment to the Regulation on the Payment of Land Rent to the Government for Islands, Lagoons and Lands Leased for Tourism Purposes’ (Regulation No: R-171/2022) (“First Amendment”) is issued by the Ministry of Tourism (“MoT”) and came into force on 8th November 2023.
The First Amendment has revised only one provision of the Land Rent Regulation. Under Section 9 (c) (1) of the Land Rent Regulation, distressed properties were required to file an application to MoT under the then prevailing rent and fines deferment regulation, seeking a concession on accrued land rent and fines to be eligible for a waiver of such land rent and fines by the government.
Under the revision introduced to Section 9 (c) (1) by the First Amendment, the rule for eligibility has been slightly relaxed as there is no longer a requirement for an applicant to have already applied to MoT seeking a concession for accrued land rent. Instead, the criteria is now simply, tourism properties which are in distress that are either islands, lands or lagoons leased for tourism purposes which have not been able to complete their property’s development and construction within the applicable construction period and those who have not been able to commence with their property operations.
