President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced a significant reversal of national social housing policy on Monday, declaring that citizens will no longer be forced to forfeit small, privately owned land parcels to the state to qualify for government housing.
Under the previous regulatory framework, individuals seeking state-provided housing were mandated to surrender personal landholdings smaller than 400 square feet. The new amendment will instead allow these citizens to transfer such property to family members, a move intended to preserve generational wealth and alleviate the financial strain on local households.
The administration will soon release updated guidelines detailing the new transfer protocols, with the finalised policy expected to be made public imminently, President Muizzu told reporters during a press conference.
The shift in regulations is designed to apply retroactively, offering a reprieve to past participants of the state's housing initiatives. Beneficiaries who were allocated flats during the most recent housing scheme, and who had already surrendered their property to comply with the previous rules, will now be permitted to reassign those land titles to their relatives.
"The policy will be amended to allow the transfer of the land parcel to a spouse, child, or sibling," President Muizzu said. "Citizens will have the autonomy to transfer the property to a relative of their choosing. We will ensure that beneficiaries of the previous housing scheme are also accommodated under this newly established framework."
This policy reversal was driven by a recognition of the severe financial impact the previous rules had on local citizens. Many property owners had previously acquired loans and invested heavily in developing and constructing homes on these small plots to secure long-term benefits for their kin. Forcing families to forfeit these developed lands, President Muizzu observed, equated to a profound and unjustifiable financial waste for the affected families.
The strict condition of relinquishing property to the state will henceforth be exclusively enforced upon individuals who already hold the title to an apartment acquired through a social housing scheme.