Providing access to adequate housing for citizens is a key pledge of the Government.

Housing requirement of the country can be categorized into 3 key segments:

• Social Housing
• Medium Income Housing
• High Income/Luxury

Housing The Government’s key focus is on the social and medium income housing categories. In this respect, the Government has recently incorporated a 100% state owned company, Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation Limited (FDC) to deliver the Government’s agenda of providing access to affordable housing. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will be the regulator of the housing market and will establish the criteria of awarding the housing stock that is developed by FDC.

Over the past years, while housing units have been brought to the market in large numbers, there lacked a system to properly manage and govern allocation of the units, alongside with targeted and affordable housing finance arrangements, which has resulted in huge injustices in the system.

The Government’s housing policy is four pronged:

• Ensuring adequate housing supply
• Facilitating affordable housing finance – through conventional housing loans or new financing products
• Strengthening the regulatory framework
• Strengthening the management framework of awarding and monitoring

The integrated housing project proposed includes the following components, in line with the Government’s policy on housing:

• Development of a housing management scheme to manage and monitor all social housing units across the Maldives – with links to all related stakeholders
• Review of existing legal framework governing the housing sector and development of new laws required, including a Strata Titling Act (governing both developers and endusers, including the management of condominium properties).
• Development of 20,000 housing units – GOM is open to consider various models in delivery of these housing units