Strict change in land exchange rules in Thinadhoo

Strict changes have been made to the regulations for exchanging land plots in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll Thinadhoo due to significant issues arising from the process.

In an announcement made last Thursday, the Thinadhoo City Council stated that the exchange of plots according to current regulations and changing land registries accordingly could lead to irreconcilable conflicts of interest among landowners and potentially irredeemable loss.

Due to complaints from landowners, council members agreed that establishing clear land exchange regulations was important. They have now created a set of rules called "Regulations for Exchanging State Owned Land Plots Granted in Thinadhoo City," as stated in the announcement.

The Thinadhoo City Council approved these regulations at an official meeting held on August 28.

Under the new regulations, land exchanges are only permitted between state-owned plots or between private plots. Exchanging state-owned land for private land is no longer allowed.

Previously, state-owned land could be exchanged with private land, and there were no specific size requirements.

Land Exchanging Regulations

- Only state owned land can be exchanged with state owned land, or private land with private land.

- The two plots being exchanged must be of equal size.

- A plot with a building and land registry cannot be exchanged with a plot without one.

- Plots cannot be exchanged if any part of them, no matter how small or large, has been divided and separately registered.

- If exchanging two differently sized plots, the larger plot must be divided and registered separately to match the size of the smaller plot.

- If exchanging differently sized plots, the excess area of the larger plot can be privatized, registered separately, and sold.

- A fee of 5,000 rufiyaa must be paid for registering each exchanged plot.

The reason why a land with building and land registration and a land without building and land registration cannot be exchanged is that people's registration to a residence cannot be transferred to land without buildings. People are registered in houses where building and land registration have been done.

Thinadhoo Mayor Saud Ali told "Mihaaru" today that these regulations were necessary because some people were taking unfair advantage of legal loopholes in the land exchanging process, resulting in others losing their rights. The city council believed that without proper rules, significant problems could arise in the future.

"The council has now created uniformity. We've aligned with existing laws," Saud said.

"We've made the regulations in a way that allows for further amendments if needed."

Saud also mentioned that these regulations were developed after extensive research and under the guidance of the council's legal team.

Thinadhoo, one of the most populous islands in the south, recently decided to allocate 200 plots for housing and held a lottery for this purpose last month.