Vinares flats: Total 1,413 application, only 723 meet Ministry’s requirements

Housing Development Corporation (HDC), on Sunday, has stated that only 723 applications from the 1,413 submitted at the expiration of the deadline for the purchase of Vinares Flats developed in Hulhumale’ Phase II met the eligibility criteria set down by Housing Ministry.

In a press conference held on Sunday to release the provisional list of winning applicants for Vinares Flats – HDC’s Managing Director Ahmed Athif said that the housing units are expected to complete by next year’s April. He added that presently finishing works were underway.

“In evaluating the forms within the past month, what was noticed is that applicants had not submitted all documentation,” he further stated.

Athif assured that HDC would work transparently to provide information regarding the project to the public.

Housing Ministry’s Senior Executive Director Mohamed Arif who also spoke at the press conference said that if any applicant is omitted from the list, the Ministry would inquire whether the applicant was omitted for a legitimate reason.

HDC said that they will grant a three-day period for those who did not meet the eligibility criteria to submit complaints. They also revealed that an open day will be held on December 12, for persons who failed to meet the eligibility criteria in order to obtain the missing documents.

As per HDC, this open day will see the participation of Bank of Maldives (BML), Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) and Housing Development Financial Corporation (HDFC).

The Vinares housing project was launched during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration to address the housing shortage in Maldives.

1,344 apartments were built in ten towers under the project. The apartments are valued between MVR 2.5 million to MVR 3 million – which measures between 883sqft to 902sqft.

HDC said that they evaluated the living conditions of the applicants, and organized them by score. These applicants will then get the opportunity to pick their apartments in the listed order.

After this, the financial eligibility of the applicants will be assessed. Those that meet the criteria will be handed over the units. However, the units of applicants who fail to meet the financial eligibility criteria will be canceled and the chance would be given to those on waiting list.