Flats to be allocated for residents with 15 years of continuous residence in Male'

The government has announced that residents who have lived in Male' for 15 consecutive years will be eligible to apply for flats and land under the newly launched “Boahiyaavahikan Enmennah” (Housing for All) initiative.

The housing allocation policies for both flats and land were published in the Government Gazette yesterday following the official launch of the programme, which aims to address the long-standing housing issue in the country.

According to the flat allocation policy, applicants must meet three basic criteria:

The policy states that people who have not formally registered as Male' residents, but have physically lived in the city for 15 consecutive years, will be considered Male' residents for the purpose of the scheme.

Even if an applicant has lived elsewhere temporarily, the total time spent in Male' will count toward the 15-year requirement if it adds up to that duration.

Certain circumstances will not be counted as interruptions to continuous residence, including:

Residents of other islands who have lived in Male' for at least 15 years are also eligible to apply for land allocation.

However, they must not own more than 400 square feet of registered land anywhere in the country. If they own less than that amount, they must agree to give it up in order to qualify.

The land allocation policy also outlines specific conditions under which time spent in Male' will not be counted as continuous residence.

Applications for the housing project, which includes 7,500 housing units and 15,000 plots in the Male' area will open from January 4 to March 3 next year.

All applications must be submitted online through the Hiyaa Portal.