Rent agreement registrations increase in Mutrah

Muscat: Statistics for the year 2023 shows that in the first half of the year, 3,323 new rent agreements were registered in the Wilayat of Mutrah, in addition to 21,239 contract renewals, revealed Muscat Municipality

Residential contracts represented the highest percentage of both types followed by commercial contracts, compared to the same period in 2022, approximately 747 new contracts were registered and 11,999 contracts were renewed.

This increase in the registration of contracts indicates the awareness efforts exerted by Muscat Municipality to encourage the public to register rent agreements.

This practice saves the rights of both the parties of the contract, determines the amount of the fee and the duration of the contract, which reduces the emergence of disputes later between landlords, investors or tenants.

     It is worth mentioning that article (14) of the Muscat Municipality law No. 38/2015, which is one of the legislative determinants and regulatory frameworks for rental relationship between landlords and tenants, as the article states: "Anyone who violates the provisions of this law and the regulations and decisions implementing it shall be punished by a fine not less than OMR 50 and not more than OMR 5000, or imprisonment for not less than 24 hours, not more than six months, or by one of the two penalties."

     For these reasons, Muscat Municipality emphasises the need to register lease contracts with the competent municipality in order to preserve their rights and benefit the parties to the contract, avoid the penalty/ fine, and in order to achieve a fair tax distribution that enhances the sustainability and development of services.