The government has launched its "housing for all" policy to fulfil President Mohamed Muizzu's pledge to provide housing to all those in need during his five-year term.

The Housing Ministry said the policy aims to ensure that every Maldivian family can live with dignity by establishing housing accessibility and affordability.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Housing Minister Abdulla Muththalib said the government has launched an important initiative to make the people's dream a reality.

"Every citizen of the Maldives dreams of having their own housing. Building a dignified, safe and secure life," Muththalib said.

He said “housing for all” is not just a slogan, but it is a program that aims to provide every family with a dignified housing opportunity.

"Housing for all" policy

• People with financial means will be given the opportunity to purchase housing units and land on a commercial basis.
• Affordable housing projects will be implemented to provide housing to middle-class families.
• Those who cannot afford to buy their own housing will have access to housing under the rent-to-own model
• The poorest families will be provided with housing through a government assessment.

Although this is the government's overall housing policy, the first and most important scheme under this policy is the family housing program. They are the land allocation scheme and the flat allocation scheme targeting Male'.

Flat scheme

Flats are offered in two categories. They are the Male' natives category and the category of people who have lived in Male' for 15 years.

The five basic conditions set by the government for the allocation of flats are:

• Be a Maldivian citizen
• 18 years of age or older
• Not owning more than 400 square feet of land
• Not having purchased a housing unit in the real estate market or agreeing to purchase such a property and paying for it
• Neither the applicant nor their spouse has previously received government-run housing

The government has two models for applying for flats. One model is the “Affordable Home Ownership Model” for first-time homebuyers, who are eligible for bank-issued housing finance facilities. This is a model designed for affluent families.

The Housing Ministry has also announced marking criteria for evaluating applicants. The ministry said the marking criteria can be easily verified.

• For natives or residents of Male'
• The ownership of the family land
• Total household income
• For persons with disabilities and parents under the care of the family
• Family status (number of children and medical concerns)

Land Scheme

Land is allocated to natives of Male' and those who have lived in Male' for over 15 years. People from other islands who have resided in Male' for a long period will have land allocated from Rasmale'. Male' natives will be allocated land from Rasmale' and other areas of the Greater Male' Region (Hulhumale'. Gulhifalhu, Giraavarufalhu, Uthuru Thila Falhu).

There are nine conditions for applicants. Some of them are:

• Be a Maldivian citizen
• Be 18 years of age or older
• Not having a house or land larger than 400 square feet
• Applicants must agree to give up a land or house smaller than 400 square feet in return for the new land
• Agree to give up land or house through inheritance

The Housing Ministry has the same criteria for awarding points for the land scheme as for the flat scheme. However, land allocation is based on age instead of household income.

The Housing Ministry said the 7,000 flats and 15,000 plots of land announced by Muizzu will be allocated under the rules set out in the schemes.