Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Dr Abdullah Muththalib has said the government is expanding its housing policy to offer opportunities to all income groups, unlike previous administrations that focused solely on social housing.
The Minister made the remarks at a ceremony held to hand over official documents to recipients of loans under the Hiyaavehi Financing Programme.
Minister Muththalib noted that by focusing solely on social housing, previous governments inadvertently forced even those who could afford to buy properties through banks to rely on social housing. As a result, this has reduced the number of apartments available for purchase at affordable rates, he noted.
The Minister further said previous governments faced several challenges in achieving the original objective of social housing projects, as individuals from all income groups were forced to turn to social housing programmes. However, the current government aims to provide every Maldivian citizen with assistance to purchase their first home as quickly as possible, he said.
"The government's housing policy seeks to provide opportunities to all citizens of all classes, based on their income and circumstances. High-income earners can access luxury apartments, middle-class families will have access to affordable housing programmes, while low-income individuals who cannot afford to build their homes on their own property can access loans, or social housing if they do not meet lending criteria,” he explained.
Highlighting the Hiyaavehi Financing Programme, the Minister said the government subsidises the commercial bank loans, reducing interest rates from 9-12percent to 5 percent. Under the programme, the equity requirement, which was previously above 20 percent, has been lowered. Meanwhile, the profit rate has also been reduced under the government subsidy system, he said. The equity payable by the borrower has been eased under a government guarantee policy, he added.
The Hiyaavehi Financing Programme is a key step in the government's efforts to expand housing accessibility. More than 2,000 applications were received for the scheme, out of which 81 applications were deemed ineligible. A total of 710 people were given the opportunity to submit the required documentation.
The Minister said the programme will be re-announced next year, taking into account the experience of this year’s programme. The government aims to provide easy access to loans for individuals with sufficient income to build on their own land.