Muscat Municipality launches online registration of tenancy

Muscat Municipality on Thursday will start online registration of tenancy agreements to minimise the hassles of visiting the office in person.

This step is part of the municipality’s efforts towards digital transformation of municipal services and regulating owner-tenant relationships, the civic body said in a statement.

The municipality statement highlighted the importance of this initiative, while announcing that ‘starting on Thursday, lease contracts can be registered through electronic certification as part of our commitment to digitalise municipal services and facilitate smoother owner-tenant interactions’.

Initially, the service will focus exclusively on new residential lease contracts. To begin with, the system will be open for agreements with individuals only, while the agreements for companies and government entities will continue to follow the existing procedures.

The municipality emphasises the significance of documenting and authenticating rental contracts. These contracts not only protect and preserve the rights of both parties within the legal framework but also establish a clear agreement where the lessor allows the lessee to use a property for a specified period against an agreed-upon fee. Proper documentation of lease contracts plays a crucial role in minimising potential disputes and issues between landlords and tenants.

Electronically certified lease contracts will be recognised as official documents by various authorities, including the judicial bodies. ‘This is in line with the efforts to facilitate litigation procedures in courts,’ Muscat Municipality informed.

The service ensures that lease contracts are officially documented and confirmed by the municipality, thereby integrating them into the tenant’s data records. This provides comprehensive information about participants in the rental sector, municipality stated.

This initiative is a step towards establishing a fair tax compliance system, contributing significantly to the Muscat Municipality’s projects and services.