Moving goalposts, broken promises: the housing scheme that ate itself

It felt worth the effort. The cases I helped craft were among 8,602 complaints submitted by a deadline of March 31 from residents of Malé who were deemed ineligible after a year-long verification process.

But all of it – every sleepless night, every complaint, every desperate appeal – was rendered meaningless by a single announcement on May 29. 

The first 4,000 flats nearing completion in Hulhumalé would be handed over to the recipients on the original list published by the outgoing administration in November 2023, Housing Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib told the press, nullifying the revised list published in February under his own watch.

The awarding of flats under the Gedhoruveriya scheme was based on a structured process of assessment, inspection, and qualification under a gazetted rule (G-20/2022). The permanent list of recipients was published on November 16, 2023, a day before president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih left office. By the time his successor was sworn in, 95 percent of people on the list had completed signing agreements for the handover of their flats (as stipulated in clause six of the rules).

But three days later, the new administration announced a review of the list as recommended by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). 

The move was not without merit. I saw the problems flagged by the watchdog first-hand: individuals who hadn’t lived in Malé for over 15 years – a key condition – made it onto the list. Others were awarded points for children they never had. 

What followed was a year-long saga of shifting promises and deadlines.

On January 2, 2024, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced that registration or title deeds for the flats would be issued “next week.” But on January 11, the housing ministry clarified that the process would be delayed until the review could be concluded.

In February 2024, the ACC dropped a bombshell – 60 percent of approved applicants were ineligible.

In April 2024, then-housing minister Dr Ali Haidar confirmed the list was still under review. On October 13, he promised a revised list by the end of the month, only to delay it again two days before the deadline, offering a new timeframe of mid-November.

Then came an unforeseen setback. On December 12, a massive fire destroyed the office buildings of the housing, environment, and infrastructure ministries. By then, Haidar had been transferred to the higher education ministry. The housing portfolio was restructured under the expanded construction and infrastructure ministry led by Dr Muththalib.  

On January 14 this year, Muththalib announced he was restarting the flat list review anew, effectively erasing over a year of the previous effort. When the new list was finally published on February 27, only about 1,800 recipients chosen for the 4,000 flats remained eligible.

The post-review reality was grim: 3,119 applicants were ineligible and 424 failed to meet the minimum threshold (73 points for a two-bedroom unit and 75 points for a three-bedroom unit).

The disqualifications were often technical and rigidly enforced. Some applicants were excluded for submitting residency papers provided by the Malé City Council, which the ministry refused to accept, despite most having been issued when President Muizzu was the mayor. Others were disqualified for having spent more than one year abroad between October 2007 and 2022 – even for medical treatment or for pursuing higher education. In some cases, applicants became ineligible after a disabled person under their care passed away.

Even those who remained on the November 2023 list were no longer guaranteed apartments. On the day of Muththalib's announcement in May, the government issued a notice (491/491/2025/45) declaring that eligibility would now be “interpreted” according to new redefinitions of the rules.

The concessions laid out in this notice were both sweeping and ambiguous. Anyone who lived in Malé since October 2007 would now be considered to have had uninterrupted residency unless official documentation proved otherwise.

Crucially, if a spouse had been awarded a plot of land under the previous government's Binveriya scheme, the applicant would be ineligible unless that land was relinquished. Even those who simply applied for a flat under the 2022 "landlord" scheme – despite never owning property – would now be disqualified.

According to the Gedhoruveriya rules, eligibility could only be denied if an applicant “previously received housing” under a government project. But with this single notice, a set of entirely new disqualifications – not sanctioned under a law or regulation – were imposed, overriding the rules. People were barred not for what they received, but for what they once applied for – or for what their spouse received.

This isn’t just unethical. It is legally indefensible. Article 59 of the constitution prohibits retroactive penalties. Yet this is precisely what has happened: disqualification based on rules that did not exist at the time of application.

Around 30 individuals who submitted complaints through me have now reached out, fearing their eligibility is gone forever. These include people who were offered the chance to purchase flats after years of waiting; public servants who were awarded flats through employment categories; and citizens who purchased flats through state-owned enterprises like the Malé Water Sewerage Company. Others were victims of fraudulent private developers like SeaLife who were promised flats as compensation. 

Under the revised interpretation, all these prior housing arrangements – whether they were private purchases, compensation, or temporary solutions – are being counted as “previous housing” and grounds for disqualification.

To add to the confusion, the scheme considers any housing unit of 600 square feet or more to be adequate. The Hiya flats in Hulhumalé, which measure 580 square feet, do not meet that threshold. Yet even that is now seemingly being used as a reason for exclusion.

I am now exploring how these affected individuals can challenge the government in court.

If applications submitted in 2022 are now being judged by 2025 rules, then fairness demands reciprocity. Shouldn’t children born after the date of application be counted for additional points? Shouldn’t those who have become disabled since then now qualify for the points they currently deserve? Shouldn’t present-day living conditions – like 10 people sharing a single bathroom – also be taken into account?

Every step of this process has been marred by inconsistency, shifting standards, and arbitrary enforcement. Rules have been bent. Criteria have been reinterpreted and reinvented. Promises have been revoked. And through it all, the people most affected, many of whom are already vulnerable, have been left bewildered, excluded, and without legal recourse.

As it stands, only the Creator knows what logic or principle the housing ministry is operating under. But in a constitutional democracy, citizens shouldn't need divine intervention to understand government policy – they should be able to rely on the rule of law. 

    

  

Saif Fathih is a columnist at the Maldives Independent and a serving member of the Malé City Council for Galolhu North. With his educational background in communications, international studies and public policy, he previously worked as a journalist, editor and public policy advisor, with roles including senior policy director at the ministry of national planning and editor of Ocean Weekly Magazine. Saif began his career as a radio producer and presenter at Minivan Radio, writer for Minivan Daily, and translator for the British High Commission and the European Union Mission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He is also the host of Ithuru Vaahaka, the Maldives Independent podcast.