Government to Amend Family Housing Policy to Keep Land Within Families

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced today that the government will amend the housing policy requiring applicants under the “Aailee Bohiyavahikan” (Family Housing) programme to surrender any small plot of land larger than 400 square feet to the state.

Currently, the housing application portal asks applicants whether they have “inherited, been willed, received as a gift, or otherwise stand to receive a plot of land or a portion of land larger than 400 square feet, or a flat or a row house, or have agreed to surrender such a place.” Under the existing rule, such land must be handed over to the government.

At a press conference held at the President’s Office, President Muizzu said the policy would be changed to allow the land to be transferred to a spouse, children, or siblings of the applicant’s choosing, rather than surrendered to the state. He added that the amended policy would be finalised and made public either today or tomorrow.

“It will not have to be surrendered to the government. This includes a spouse, children, and siblings. Therefore, we are changing this so that instead of surrendering that piece of land to the state, it can be released to one of these parties,” the President said.

The same approach will apply to those who received land and flats under the previous government’s “Binveriya” scheme. He clarified that the only exception requiring a handover to the government would be flats issued under a government social housing scheme.

“The flat must be handed over to the government. Many parties have already invested in their plots of land. Some have been built using loans. There are very complicated situations involved,” he explained, stressing that the government is not attempting to recover land plots already allocated to citizens.

The president said the amendment is intended to avoid placing additional burdens on citizens and to ensure that land remains within families. He added that applicants who received land under previous joint applications would be required to return the land to the government only if all parties agree to withdraw their original application and apply under the new scheme. In such cases, the land would be handed over to the state.

Public concern had grown over the previous ownership criteria, which stipulated that applicants must not possess a registered plot or portion of land exceeding 400 square feet anywhere in the Maldives, and that shared plots must be divided so no individual’s portion exceeded 400 square feet.