President to Revise Housing Rules to Allow Spouses of Homeowners to Apply

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced today that the application process for the ongoing Housing for Families programme will be changed to allow people whose spouse already has housing to apply for housing under a separate category.

“Applications for the Housing for Families program are open specifically for families without any housing, and we will soon open applications for housing in a specific category, regardless of whether [the applicant’s] wife or husband owns housing,” he said, speaking during his presidential address at the opening of the first parliamentary session of the year today.

Under the current policy, applicants are disqualified if their spouse owns housing. In response to public concerns, the Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure, Dr Muththalib Abdulla, have previously said the rule was designed to prioritise households without any housing.

Addressing public concerns, President Muizzu said housing opportunities would be made available even where a spouse already owns housing, through a separate category.

Additionally, President Muizzu also said beneficiaries of the 2022 Binveriyaa scheme who received land plots through joint applications would be able to receive individual plots, provided all applicants in the joint application agree to withdraw and proceed under the current application framework in line with legal requirements for the Housing for Families scheme.

He said 1,000 land plots would be allocated for each of these categories. He added that where joint ownership remains, a separate category would be created to allow individuals to receive land plots separately.

Highlighting broader developments in the housing sector, the President said Bank of Maldives (BML) would allocate flats under the social housing scheme, with 3,260 flats to be completed within 30 months. 

He said that construction of apartments on 13 islands will begin in April this year under the contract and financing policy, and that 9,175 housing units will be built under the ongoing projects. These are expected to be completed within 26 months. 

He noted that two foreign companies and three Maldivian companies have been contracted to complete parts of the affordable housing programme under BML, with 3,260 flats to be completed and handed over within the next 30 months. 

The President added that construction on additional islands will begin in August, and that separate funds will be allocated for those working in the fisheries and tourism sectors.