The government has taken a stand against the subletting of government houses and flats, saying that no part or the entirety of a house or flat allotted under the Directorate of Government Accommodation can be sublet or rented out to anyone.

Allottees who have already rented out one or more rooms, or an entire house or flat, have been directed to remove the tenant or sublessee by October 31.

After the deadline, the allotment of any allottee found to have a tenant or sublessee will be cancelled, and punitive and legal action will be taken as per the rules.

The allottee's head of office and appointing authority will also be informed and requested to take departmental disciplinary action.

The Directorate of Government Accommodation under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works issued an urgent public notice on the matter on October 29, signed by Directorate Director Md. Jahirul Islam Khan.

The notice said a recent report by the directorate's inspection team found that some allottees had sublet or rented out one or two rooms, or the entire house or flat allotted in their names.

It said such practices go against the Bangladesh Allotment Rules, 1982.

Allottees have therefore been instructed not to sublet or rent out any part of their allotted homes. Where this has already been done, the tenant or sublessee must leave by October 31, and the allottee must reside in the home allotted in his or her name.

The notice said action would be taken against allottees without any further show-cause notice if a tenant or sublessee is found after the deadline.

Their allotments will be cancelled under the Bangladesh Allotment Rules, 1982, and necessary punitive and legal action will follow.

Under Rule 14(3), their heads of office and appointing authorities will be informed and asked to take disciplinary action.

The notice said directorate officials recently visited various government houses and flats and identified cases of subletting. The directive was issued based on the inspection team's report.

Sources said houses and flats are allotted to officers and employees for their own residence under established rules. However, some allottees try to make financial gains by renting out part or all of their homes. This undermines the primary purpose of government housing allotment and raises concerns about harming the interests of genuine beneficiaries.

The Public Works Department and engineers in the concerned areas have also been informed so that the directive can be implemented.

Copies of the notice were sent to the Chief Engineer, concerned executive engineers, sub-divisional engineers, and the deputy directors of the directorate in Dhaka and Chattogram.

Copies were also sent to the minister, state minister, secretary and concerned officials of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works for their information.

The move is expected to strengthen monitoring, ensure discipline in the allotment system and stop unauthorised subletting.

However, implementing the directive within the deadline and ensuring that the ban remains effective through regular inspections will be an important challenge for the authorities concerned.