President ratifies legislature which allows utility companies to directly bill tenants

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified an amendment to the Utility Regulatory Authority Act which allows utility service providers to directly bill tenants instead of landlords.

The legislature was passed by the Parliament on October 17.

It came into effect upon ratification on Monday.

The legislature allows for meters to be registered to the names of the people who use utility services in instances where utility services are used by people other than those meters are registered to.

The legislature also addends a new section under Article 34 of the Act, mandating the Utility Regulatory Authority (URA) to formulate guidelines that govern billing for general utility services upon consultation with utility providers.

According to the legislature, URA shall, in the guidelines, specify the procedures for calculating late fines, circumstances for service discontinuation, and procedures to be followed in such cases.