The Ministry of Housing today extended the opportunity to submit applications for housing units built in B. Thulhaadhoo and Th. Vilufushi until the end of this month.

According to the Ministry’s previous arrangement, the deadline for submitting applications for housing units on these two islands was to expire today. However, the Housing Ministry today granted an extension until the end of the month.

Applications for the 100 housing units constructed on each island must be submitted through the Ministry’s "Hiyaavehi Portal."

The responsibility for opening applications, evaluating forms, and handing over the 100 housing units built in Thulhaadhoo, in accordance with the regulations set by the then Ministry of National Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure during the previous government, was initially handed over to the Thulhaadhoo Council.

However, an individual filed a case at the Thulhaadhoo Magistrate Court seeking to invalidate the provisional list published by the Thulhaadhoo Council on October 9, 2023, claiming that the regulation set for the allocation was invalid and based on amended rules.

The verdict issued regarding the matter stated that the change brought to the regulation was legally and constitutionally invalid. Therefore, although the court ordered adherence to the Ministry’s advice and the regulation published on May 11, 2022, the flats remained unassigned due to various subsequent issues.

Consequently, as the issues surrounding these flats escalated, the Ministry finally took over the handover process late last year.

The housing units being released in Vilufushi consist of three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sitting room, and a kitchen. Each of these housing units is built on a 2,000-square-foot state-owned plot of land.

The housing units built in Thulhaadhoo are 1,100 square feet. Each unit includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sitting room, a kitchen, and a storeroom, as well as a dedicated area for laundry.