Dechen Dolkar

National Housing Development Corporation Limited (NHDCL) is investigating the allegations of tenants subletting their allotted apartments for a higher rent than what the company charges them.

NHDCL’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rinchen Wangdi, said it was learnt that some tenants have sublet the apartments charging higher rents than the actual rents.

During the surprise inspections conducted by NHDCL, at Changjiji Housing Colony, recently, they found 13 potential sublet cases, which are yet to be confirmed.

However, the CEO said that they are in the process of verifying these cases.

He said that during the inspection, some tenants claimed to be in the village or on vacation, and their relatives were staying in the apartments at that time.

The CEO said that it was very difficult for them to track down the actual tenants. “Some tenants even do not deposit the rent on time.”

NHDCL has mostly encountered sublet cases in category three apartments, which have two-bedroom units, with monthly rent ranging from Nu 4,000 to Nu 6,900.

Over the past years, NHDCL has identified 18 cases of subletting, and after verification, 14 of them were confirmed as sublet cases.

The CEO said that all these tenants have surrendered their apartments to the NHDCL.

He also said that NHDCL plans to conduct surprise inspections in other colonies and core areas to identify such cases.

NHDCL has the most low-cost housing units in the capital city. Of the total 1,095 units in Thimphu, Chang Jiji colony has 674 units, mostly in category three. NHDCL has 663 units in 11 housing colonies in Pasakha and Phuentsholing town.

Samdrupjongkhar has 101 units, followed by Trashigang with 96 units and 56 units in Zhemgang. Paro has the lowest housing facility with just two units.