A registration scheme designed to protect tenants in the private rental sector is expected to become compulsory from autumn 2014.
Landlords are being encouraged to sign up while the scheme is still voluntary.
The Department of Social Care says it has now received enough feedback from landlords already on the scheme and a public consultation to go ahead with draft legislation.
The department says a discounted rate of ?50 to register along with a fee of ?10 per property is available now. Registration lasts for three years. However, the fee will rise for landlords who do not register before the scheme becomes mandatory.
The voluntary scheme was launched in February last year and the department says it has been consulting with the Manx Landlords'Association, which was formed as a direct result by landlords expressing concern about the new legislation. Once the scheme is law, landlords must maintain minimum standards in terms of state of repair and maintenance of properties. The legislation allows for random inspections by environmental health officers and covers tenancy management issues such as protection and return of deposits and tenant privacy.
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