Maldives real estate, reported from the ground: developments, developers, prices, rules, and the homes behind them.
Bank
Islamic bank. Home purchase financing (Ujaalaa Hiyaa, Diminishing Musharaka): 9 to 10% a year, up to 25 years, from 10% equity (cash, pledged pension or payments to the developer). Partner bank in the government's Hiyaavehi scheme.
Rules & rates
Yes, until you turn 60, but only half your balance, and the loan must be paid off before you turn 65. That shortens the term and raises the payment: on MVR 2.4 million at 11%, about MVR 33,100 a month over ten years against MVR 23,500 over 25.
Rules & rates
Only five institutions can take your pension savings as a home loan deposit: Bank of Maldives, Maldives Islamic Bank, HDFC, Mauritius Commercial Bank and Commercial Bank of Maldives. How the request moves between you, the lender and the Pension Office, step by step.
Rules & rates
It depends on your age and your balance: all of it up to 35, 80% from 36 to 49, half from 50 to 60. Worked examples at each age, and how that compares with the 10% or 20% deposit lenders ask for on a MVR 3 million flat.
Rules & rates
The Pension Office answers six questions about its housing scheme. Here they are with the answers, plus what each means for someone buying a flat from a developer, and two corrections where the FAQ's wording says the opposite of what the scheme does.
Rules & rates
The Maldives Pension Administration Office's Dhivehi leaflet on using pension savings to buy a home sets out the whole scheme on four pages: who qualifies, how much you can pledge at each age, which homes count, the five lenders, the three steps and what happens to your money. Here it is in English, section by section.
Rules & rates
Pledging pension keeps your cash free and may get you a lower rate; paying cash keeps your retirement savings out of the loan. Five questions to decide, and how to combine the two.
Rules & rates
Since May 2026 the Pension Act lets members pledge pension savings for a loan to build a house. For a family with a plot, that could cover the equity a construction lender asks for. The construction loans available today, how pension could fit, and the questions to put to your lender while the regulations are written.
Rules & rates
The 2026 Pension Act amendment lets members pledge pension savings for a loan to renovate an existing house. What renovation loans cost today, from HDFC's 11% Home Improvement to MFLC's Green Loan, where a pension pledge might help, and what to wait for.
Rules & rates
In 2025 Maldives Islamic Bank cut the equity on home financing from 20% to 10%, extended the term from 20 to 25 years and halved the work history it asks for. What changed, what it means for a buyer, and what has not changed.
Rules & rates
MIB finances flats under construction only in projects it has approved. Six are on its list today: Renaatus Javaahiru, RainPalm and RainPearl Residence, Centreal, The Creek View and SJ Creek Residences. How the list has changed since 2023, and what it means for buyers.
Rules & rates
With MIB's Ujaalaa Hiyaa, you and the bank buy the home together. Each month you pay rent on the bank's share and buy a little more of it, until the home is yours. How the partnership works, what you pay, and why the home is mortgaged.
Rules & rates
On MIB's Ujaalaa Hiyaa, the profit rate is only part of the cost: a 1.5% processing fee (at least MVR 5,000), MVR 2,500 for the offer letter, valuations at cost, 1% to amend the facility, 0.5% on part payments, and takaful for the whole term paid before the money is released.
Rules & rates
MIB charges 0.5% on part payments of Ujaalaa Hiyaa, with a minimum of MVR 1,000 or one month's payment. It does not publish a fee for settling in full. How to make a part or full settlement, and what to ask first.
Rules & rates
With MIB, a buyer of an off-plan flat pays only part of the monthly payment during construction, in proportion to what the bank has paid the developer so far. Completed homes get up to three months' grace. How it works and what to ask.
Rules & rates
MIB accepts pension savings pledged as the 10% equity on a home. The Pension Office lets members under 36 pledge all of their balance, 36 to 49 four-fifths, 50 to 60 half. The money stays invested. How it works and who qualifies.
Rules & rates
Since 2025, MIB finances a home from 10% of the price down, over up to 25 years. On a MVR 3 million flat that means MVR 300,000 of your own, a processing fee of about MVR 40,500 and a monthly payment around MVR 22,700 to 24,500. The worked example, with the income it needs.
Rules & rates
Maldives Islamic Bank finances home purchases through Ujaalaa Hiyaa: 9 to 10% a year, up to 25 years, from 10% of the price down, with no guarantor. What the product is, who qualifies, and what it does not cover.
Rules & rates
MIB lets a spouse, parents or children apply with you for home financing, and needs no guarantor. All your repayments together must stay under half your gross income, and you need 12 months in full-time work or regular rental income. The rules and the documents.
Represent Maldives Islamic Bank? Send the desk your news or corrections to hello@binga.mv.
