Muscat – Muscat Municipality on Thursday launched the first stage of an electronic certification service for lease contracts, which includes new residential lease contracts only.

The subsequent stages of the service will include the electronic certification process for various other types of lease contracts.

In the first stage, the service targets all members of society, with the exception of all types of agencies and government entities, which will be dealt with according to previously followed procedures.

The implementation of this service comes within Muscat Municipality’s plan for electronic transformation of services, re-engineering some municipal service procedures, simplifying them, and reducing the time to complete transactions. This is in line with the government’s orientation towards achieving the goals of e-governance.

Electronic certification of residential lease contracts is the process of registering and documenting the rental relationship between the owner (lessor) and the beneficiary (tenant). This enables the tenant to benefit from the leased property for a specific period of time in exchange for a known fee between them, through the mutual signature of both parties, so that the owner can enter the system from anywhere via a civil status card or a registered phone SIM card.

Electronic registration and certification brings various advantages and benefits to the owner and the beneficiary, as it ensures that the rental relationship between the two parties remains sound and correct, and the owner can demand payment of the rent officially, while the tenant pays the tariff of water and electricity.

Additionally, registration and certification reduces the time and effort in completing and clearing transactions, in addition to guaranteeing the rights of both parties in the event of disagreements and disputes. This is because it is considered reliable in official entities.

It includes litigation procedures’ facilitation in accordance with what was stated in Royal Decree No (6/89) regarding regulating the relationship between owners and tenants of housing, commercial, and industrial shops and registering lease contracts.