Urbanco has announced that tenants living in the Hiyaa Flat social housing towers will be required to forfeit tenancy of the flats should they breach the safety regulations.
The corporation, responsible managing all urbanization efforts in Hulhumale’, released a press statement following a fire incident in one of the Hiyaa towers two nights before. It was discovered that the fire was caused due to a discarded cigarette filter that was not extinguished.
This was the second fire incident that occurred in the same month with another fire earlier caused because of the same reason.
Urbanco said in their statement that their investigation revealed the fire occurred due to negligence, and added that the corporation had a zero-tolerance policy towards such conduct. The corporation also emphasized that the tenants were given social housing units after they agreed to abide by the safety regulations established to safeguard everyone living in the towers.
The regulations include a ban on smoking, keeping naked flames, and other actions that could cause harm to the residents or the buildings. Urbanco further claimed that smoking, vaping, and disposing of cigarette filters on balconies are prohibited.
Urbanco said that individuals found in breach of these regulations will face penalties up to USD 6,500 or forfeit their housing units.