Real Estate Bill tabled: 99-year leases, a 25% cap and an Israeli ban; no referendum, says President

This page sums up what thirteen published sources reported. It is a record of what outlets said, not original reporting.

The bill is the first law written for the property business, according to the Maldives Independent.¹ MV+ reports it is 153 pages long and was submitted for the government by Henveiru North MP Ahmed Aifaan.^{6, 7}

• A regulator. A Property Regulatory Authority would register developers, agents and brokers and keep a national property register.^{1, 3}
• Escrow. Payments for unbuilt homes would go into bank escrow accounts and be released as construction progresses. A 5% share would be held back for a period after completion.^{1, 3, 6}
• Zones. The President would designate integrated real estate zones, each with an approved master plan worth at least USD 1 billion on at least 200 hectares. The Maldives Independent notes that Parliament has no role in designating a zone.^{1, 3}
• Leases. A master developer could lease a zone for up to 99 years, and the developer can be wholly foreign-owned.¹ Buyers would get a 99-year leasehold on each sale and could resell or mortgage it. Their leases would outlast the master developer's own.^{1, 5} Owning property in a zone does not give citizenship.⁵
• Restrictions. Gambling, places of worship for other religions and anything contrary to Islamic sharia would be banned. Alcohol and pork would be banned on the main land, but lagoons reclaimed separately as tourism facilities could host both, as in resorts.^{1, 2, 6}

Israeli citizens, companies with any direct or indirect Israeli shareholding, and anyone acting for them would be barred from buying, and sales in breach would be void.^{1, 3, 4} Buyers from any single foreign country would be capped at 25%.^{1, 3, 6} The President announced the 25% cap in October on the President's Office programme The Pulse. He said Maldivians would face no limit.⁸

The Maldives Independent reports that a separate Immigration Bill would make the ban on Israeli passports unconditional.¹ It reports that the President said an Israeli with a second passport might be able to enter but could not invest, because buyers would be screened.²

At a press conference on 9 November, Muizzu said the government would not hold a referendum on the project. He said the bill protects citizens' rights and the country's independence and sovereignty, and that opponents were making "baseless claims" for political purposes.⁷

The Maldives Independent reports that he said the bill puts the real estate sector in "a systematic ordering", protects homebuyers from developers' scams, and would bring in tax and foreign currency to "settle debt".¹ It also reports that he said a definitive agreement with Eagle Hills would not be signed on or before 17 November, and that he expects Parliament to pass the bills before its recess.¹ According to the Maldives Independent, he did not address the bill's provisions during the press conference.²

Lawyer Ali Hussain, speaking for the movement against the project, said on 10 November that the project could create "another state within a state" and should go to a referendum. He said the bill could pave the way for foreigners to acquire long-term interests in land.¹⁰

Former economic minister Fayyaz Ismail, who is seeking the MDP's presidential ticket, said on X that if the bills pass, Maldivians would no longer be free to criticise the President or the deal. MV+ reports that the MDP has demanded the full agreement be published and a referendum held.¹¹

Sun Online reports that the MDP's national council voted on 1 November for a referendum and for protests if none is called, which differs from the stand of party chairman Mohamed Nasheed, who backs the project.¹³

On 10 November the Adhaalath Party called on the government to halt real estate projects that could give foreigners long-term residency, MV+ reports.¹²

• The 25% cap. The Standard Maldives and the Maldives Independent describe it as a limit on any one country's share of a zone. MV+ describes it as a limit on one nationality's share of the foreign quota.^{1, 3, 6}
• Tax. The Maldives Independent says goods and services in a zone would be taxed at the tourism rate of GST. MV+ says transactions would generally fall under the general rate.^{1, 6}
• Resale. In October the President said a property sold within the project would return to the government, which would then resell it.⁹ Sun Online and the Maldives Independent describe a bill under which owners can resell to other eligible buyers.^{1, 5}
• The 21 September agreement. Sun Online calls it a memorandum of understanding. Another Sun Online report calls it a commercial terms agreement or letter of intent.^{4, 13}

• When Parliament will vote on the bill.
• Whether the full text of the 21 September agreement will be published. The MDP has demanded it.¹¹
• Whether and when a definitive agreement with Eagle Hills will be signed.¹
• How the President's October statement on resale fits with the bill's resale provisions.^{5, 9}