TENANTS OWE $6.3M IN ARREARS: TLTB

The iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB) wishes to advise all its tenants whose accounts are in arrears to clear all their dues before the year ends.

Chief executive officer Tevita Kuruvakadua, in a statement, said not paying land rent was a clear indication of the tenant’s complete disregard of their legal obligations as tenants of TLTB.

As an organisation, it is the trustees of iTaukei Landowners - it leases land, receives rents and distributes lease monies to the owners. The lease agreement requires that rent are to be paid on January 1 and July 1 every year or they be marked as arrears.

“Arrears are the non-payment of lease rentals, which has always been a major area of concern for TLTB. At the moment, 8833 tenants out of the 45,205 TLTB tenants are not paying their rent on time and are now in arrears,” Mr Kuruvakadua said.

“TLTB has tried out some major recovery strategies and the last avenue is to seek the assistance of the courts for vacant possession and orders for eviction.”

Failure to comply will result in TLTB taking extreme measures, leading to legal actions and as a result tenants may lose their properties. “Payment arrangements with our Arrears and Legal Teams in any TLTB offices can also be done especially for those who have not been brought before the court,” Mr Kuruvakadua said.

The Board hopes that all TLTB tenants will do the right thing and pay their land lease rent and arrears due before December 31.