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Building on your own land? How the pension change could help

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.

By Binga Concierge Published 18 October 2026 2 min read

Illustration from Binga's stock library: a black kitchen with patterned cabinet doors. Not the building in this story.

Until May 2026, a pension pledge could only help you buy a home. The Sixth Amendment to the Maldives Pension Act added loans to construct a house. For the many Maldivian families who own land but not the money to build, that is the bigger change.

What construction lenders ask for today

Every construction loan needs equity: money of your own going into the build.

Lender	Construction loan	Equity	Rate	Term
HDFC	Home Construction	from 10%	11% to 11.75% (11.75% at 10% equity, 11% at 30%)	up to 25 years
MFLC	Home Loan (build, extend, improve)	20%	not published	5 to 10 years
Government Hiyaavehi (through BML, MIB, HDFC)	5% scheme for building on owned land	varies	5%	25 years

From each lender's site as read on 18 October 2026. Hiyaavehi applications closed in May 2025.

Where pension could fit

If the regulations follow the purchase scheme, your pledged pension would stand in for the equity. On a MVR 2 million build at HDFC's 10% minimum, that is MVR 200,000. HDFC's rate also falls as equity rises (11% at 30%), so a larger pledge could also mean a lower rate.

That is our reading of how it would work. The Pension Office has not yet published how much can be pledged for construction, or with which lenders.

What construction lenders already require

From HDFC's page:

the landowner as main applicant, and co-owners as co-applicants;
approved drawings, a construction permit, a construction agreement and a full bill of quantities;
an HDFC-approved contractor;
money paid to the builder stage by stage, after inspection.

A pension pledge would sit on top of these. It would not replace them.

Questions to ask now

Pension Office (1441): when will construction pledges open, and will the age table (100% / 80% / 50%) apply?
Your lender: will it accept pledged pension as construction equity, and does that change the rate?
Both: what happens to the pledge if the build stalls or the contractor fails?

For flat buyers

Buying a flat off plan is still the purchase route, which works today with five approved lenders.

Where it stands on 18 October 2026. The law has been in force since 21 May 2026. In June the Pension Office said it was writing the regulations and procedures, "expected to be completed within three months". As of 18 October, its news page has announced no regulations for the housing changes. Its housing page still describes purchase loans only, and its five approved lenders have published no pension-backed construction or renovation product. Until they do, ask the Pension Office (1441) and your lender before you plan on it.

From the Pension Office's announcement of 10 June 2026 and its website, read on 18 October 2026. Details will be set by regulations not yet published. General information, not financial advice.

Ask the concierge about buying with your pension

Sources and method

Prices are asking prices as listed through Binga unless marked achieved, and are dated. Developer descriptions are reported as the developer's own. Facts the desk could not verify are left out. Spotted an error? Write to hello@binga.mv; corrections are noted at the foot of the piece.

Binga Properties is a real-estate concierge; it may represent homes and developments mentioned here.