Urbanco decides against repossessing merged flats as tenants begin rebuilding wall

Urbanco has decided against repossessing the merged two Hiyaa apartments subsequent to the tenants’ commencement of work to rebuild the wall that was torn down to merge the apartments.

The case of the two apartments that were merged by demolishing the party wall between the two units came to public attention on May 5, after photos and videos of the apartments were shared on social media.

Urbanco’s Public Relations Manager Ahmed Mimraah confirmed Urbanco’s decision against repossessing the apartments after the tenants' commencement of work to rebuild the wall that was torn down to merge the apartments.

When the case came to light, Urbancoc conducted an investigation and fined the owners of both units by MVR 100,000 each. They were given 10 days to settle the fine and restore the apartments to their original state.

However, the tenants failed to pay the fine or rebuild the parting wall, and Urbanco decided to nullify the agreement and repossess the apartments, giving the tenants 14 days to vacate the units on May 14^th.

They were also given an additional 30 days to settle the fine.

The tenants unsuccessfully contested Urbanco’s decision with the Civil Court and sought an injunction to halt the repossession of the apartments.

Civil Court, however, said that the tenants violated the terms of the agreement with Urbanco and residential building laws knowingly. 

The court also stated that the tenants had no right to request an injunction after violating the terms of the agreement and residential building laws. 

At the request of the tenants, Urbanco granted additional seven days on June 8^th to restore the apartment back to its original state. The tenants requested a three-month period.