Ministry clarifies rules on uninterrupted residency for land/flat applications

Housing Ministry has clarified the circumstances under which an applicant’s period of residence in the Male' area will be considered uninterrupted for the purposes of land and flat allocation.

Under the new regulations published in the government gazette on Sunday, individuals who have lived in the Male' area for at least 15 years and do not own land or a flat in their own name are eligible to apply for both land and flats.

The requirement of 15 years’ residence was also applied during the previous Hulhumale' flat allocation process, but the lack of detailed guidance at the time led to disputes and complications.

The ministry revoked the earlier regulations on 17 December and issued revised rules clarifying situations in which time spent outside Male' will not be treated as a break in continuous residence.

According to the regulations, residency will be considered uninterrupted if an applicant was outside Male':

The rules also state that time spent outside Male' for a reasonable period due to education, medical treatment or other essential reasons will not be regarded as a break in continuous residence.

Applicants who have accumulated a total of 15 years’ residence in Male' will be considered to have met the continuous residency requirement even if there were brief interruptions after initially moving to Male'.

Under the regulations, spouses who both meet the eligibility criteria must submit a joint application. In such cases, even if applications are submitted separately, only one land plot or flat will be allocated between them.

If only one spouse meets the requirements, that individual may submit a separate application.