Housing
Introduction
The Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning is mainly involved in creating access to decent, safe, affordable and ecological residential units within green conscious communities. Moreover, to ensure that land is used optimally to support economic growth and social inclusiveness whilst protecting the environment and enhancing green living. Social housing developments are planned in such a manner so as to encourage social integration of inhabitants in the region. Hence, this Ministry, together with the National Housing Development Company Ltd (NHDC) and its subsidiary, the New Social Living Development Ltd (NSLD) are mandated to deliver housing units to needy families.
Vision
To offer a decent house with adequate facilities in a suitable living environment to every Mauritian family.
Mission
• To facilitate access to decent, safe, affordable and ecological housing units fitted with adequate services to cater for the different and evolving needs of present and future generations.
- •To strengthen social and cultural integration through the provision of appropriate social and recreational facilities in social housing development such as multipurpose/ commercial area, children's playgrounds, green/common spaces and walking/ jogging/pétanque areas for the welfare of the residents.
- • To promote green living practices within our social housing projects, integrating sustainable design, renewable energy solutions and efficient resource management to minimize environmental impact and enhance the quality of life for residents.
- •To build sustainable communities through the development of socially inclusive housing projects that prioritize environmental responsibility, resilience, and long-term viability, contributing to the well-being of both current and future generations in Mauritius.
- • To promote equity and inclusiveness by providing sustainable housing to vulnerable groups (elderly person, person with disabilities and other hardship cases).
- •Ensure a good living housing condition of inhabitant of NHDC housing estates through the implementation of rehabilitation and upgrading works.
- • Encourages self-help construction for household who want to construct housing units on their own through the casting of roof slab or the purchase of building material schemes.
Provision of housing units
The current housing scheme is based on the combined household income not exceeding Rs 40,000.
The type of housing unit consists of at least 2 bedrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 living room, 1 toilet and 1 bathroom. Social and recreational amenities are provided within the housing estates, where required, so as to better integrate the residents within these housing estates.
The following social and recreational amenities are also provided within housing estates being implemented by the Ministry, where feasible:
> Multipurpose area and commercial spaces
> Soccer Pitch
> Children Playground
>Jogging track
> Petangue Courts
> Cultural Space-Amphitheatre
List of projects being implemented by the National Housing Development Co. Ltd (NHDC)
SN
| Site No
| No. of ousing Unit
|
1
| Quatre Cocos
| 52
|
2
| Wooton Millenium
| 126
|
3
| Melrose
| 49
|
4
| Sebastopol | 30
|
5
| Camp Ithier
| 72
|
6
| Solitude II
| 72
|
List of projects being implemented by the New Social Living Development Co. Ltd (NSLD)
SN
| SITE
| No. Housing Unit
|
7
| Pointe
Aux Piments
| 200
|
8
| Camp Levieux
| 200
|
9
| Reunion Maurel
| 216
|
10
| Olivia (Phase 2) | 148
|
11
| Mare D'Albert
| 200 |
12
| Camp Ithier (Phase 1)
| 49
|
13
| Beaux Songes
| 230
|
14
| Grand Bel Air (Phase 2) | 104
|
15
| Pointe Aux Sables (Phase 1)
| 216
|
16
| Notre Dame | 400
|
17
| Riche
Terre 1 (Opposite Jinfei Eden Garden)
| 176
|
18
| Riche Terre 2 (Opposite Port Chambly)
| 200
|
19
| Souillac
| 200
|
20
| Bambous | 100
|
21
| LA Source, Avenue Puspass
| 100
|
22
| Hermitage 1 (Behind Bus Terminal) | 124
|
| 23 | Goodlands (Traffic Centre) | 184
|
24
| La Brasserie
| 224
|
| 25 | L'Esperance Trebuchet
| 400
|
26
| Coromandel | 750
|
27
| Pointe Aux Sables (Phase 2) | 84
|
28
| Arsenal 2 (Opposite Pépinière d"Arsenal)
| 290
|
29
| Camp Ithier (Phase 2)
| 139
|
30
| Bel Air | 188
|
31
| Balisson
| 400
|
| 32 | Henrietta 1 (Adjacent Rivulet Augustin)
| 308
|
33
| Tyack
| 200
|
34
| Quatre Cocos
| 212
|
35
| Hermitage
2 (Adjacent to La Digue Hermitage)
| 276
|
36
| La Source – Lot 1 to Lot 6, Lot 9
| 300
|
37
| Arsenal 1, (Opposite Arsenal Government School)
| 284
|
38
| Cote D'Or
| 324
|
39
| Camp le Juge
| 108
|
| 40 | Riambel
| 70
|
SUB-TOTAL (NSLD)
| 7,604
|
Sale of Housing Unit
The housing units are sold to beneficiaries by the NHDC Ltd, with subsidy from the Government as follows:
Household Income
| Payment by Beneficiaries
| Government Subsidy
|
≤ Rs 40,000
| 33%
| 67%
|
The beneficiaries can settle the cost of the houses at the NHDC Ltd either by cash or through Government sponsored loans from financial institution such as the Mauritius Housing Company (MHC) or from other lending institutions.
With regard to the plot of State Land on which stand the house, beneficiaries are granted a long term residential lease expiring on the 30 June 2060 on the plot of land. Annual rentals for leases regarding sites built up with a housing unit are at a nominal rate based on the beneficiaries’ income, as detailed below:
Household Income
| Annual Rental
| Remarks
|
<Rs 7,500
| Re 1
| 50% increase for each subsequent period of 10 years.
|
Rs 7501 - Rs 10,000
| Rs 1000
| 50% increase for each subsequent period of 10 years.
|
Rs 10,001 - Rs 15,000
| Rs 2000
| 50% increase for each subsequent period of 10 years.
|
Rs 15,001 - Rs 25,000
| Rs 3000
| 50% increase for each subsequent period of 10 years.
|
Rs 25,001 - Rs 40,000
| Rs 6000
| 50% increase for each subsequent period of 10 years.
|
On housing estates which have syndics, the land is leased in the name of the respective “Syndicat de Copropriétés"
Syndics
The main functions of the syndic on a NHDC Housing Estate are to ensure security and maintenance of communal areas like lifts, staircase, corridors, green spaces and other common spaces within the housing estate. Other services include replacement of broken lights, ensuring clean garbage collection and effective regular cleaning.
Families have been encouraged to set up syndics for the upkeep and maintenance of their common areas. The Government contributes a monthly amount of Rs. 200 per family in respect of 79 syndics on 34 low income NHDC Housing Estates.
Rehabilitation of Infrastructure on NHDC Housing Estates
With the aim of improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of existing NHDC housing estates particularly those who resides in low- and medium-rise apartments, the Government has come forward with a rehabilitation programme relating to waterproofing, water reticulation wastewater disposal, and repairs to cracks and structural remedial works. Most of these rehabilitation works are complex in nature and thus cannot be undertaken by the residents or the syndic alone.
List of Recently Completed Rehabilitation Projects:
| SN | Description | Site | No. of Housing units |
1 |
Rehabilitation of Existing Wastewater Network amd Ancillary Works on NHDC Housing Estates
| Bambous (Exim, Firinga 1) | 506 |
| St Pierre (Exim) | 72 |
| Rose Belle (Exim, Shell, Firinga IV) | 250 |
| Vieux Grand Port (Shell) | 56 |
| Nouvelle France (VLC) | 92 |
| Tyack (VLC) | 68 |
| Riambel (VLC) | 76 |
| Dagotiere (Exim) | 52 |
| Dagotiere (Firinga 03) | 103 |
| Highlands (Exim) | 84 |
| Notre Dame (Exim) | 60 |
2 |
Roof waterproofing and Paintings to Existing Blocks of Apartments at Beau Vallon, La Tour Koenig,Camp Levieux and Atlee (Les Jasmins) | Beau Vallon (Chinese) | 216 |
| La Tour Koenig (Malaysian 01) | 1,008 |
| Camp Levieux (Malaysian 01) | 992 |
| Atlee (CTT) - Les Jasmins | 80 |
| TOTAL | 3,715 |
List of Ongoing Rehabilitation Projects:
| SN | Description | Site | No. of Housing units |
| 1 | Roof waterproofing and Remedial Works to NHDC Apartments at Dagotiere (Firinga 3), Bambous and Vallée Des Prêtres
| Dagotiere (Firinga 3), | 103 |
| Bambous | 308 |
| Vallée Des Prêtres | 336 |
| 2 | Construction of Drain along NEF Boundary, Detention Pond and Dreging of Water Way at Residence Vetiver, Gros Cailloux | Gros Cailloux | 135 |
| TOTAL | 882 |
Casting of Roof Slab and Purchase of Building Materials Grant Scheme
The Government also encourages self-help construction of housing units by low- and middle-income families who already own a plot of land and are having difficulties to construct a concrete housing unit. These families are financially assisted through a grant scheme either for the casting of roof slabs to complete their construction or for the purchase of building materials to start their construction.
In Budget Speech 2024-2025, the monthly income
eligibility threshold of the Grant Scheme for Casting of Roof Slab / Purchase
of Building Materials was increased from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000. Hence, to further support families in their endeavor to construct their own house, the grant has been reviewed as follows:
Scheme
| Household Income Eligibility
| Maximum one-off cash grant Amount
|
Roof Slab Grant/ Purchase of Building Materials
| ≤ Rs20,000
| Rs 130,000
|
Rs 20,001 - Rs 30,000
| Rs 100,000
|
Rs 30,001 - Rs 40,000
| Rs 75,000
|
Notes:
(i). Households who own a plot of land but cannot afford to complete construction of their house which has reached up to the beam level. The grant is for the casting of roof slab for an area of up to 100 m². Allowable building plan area may reach up to 150 m².
- (ii). Households who own a plot of land but cannot afford to start construction of a housing unit of up to 100 m². The grant is for purchase of building materials to start construction.
(III) In Budget 2019/20, Government has extended the Building Materials Grant Scheme and the Roof Slab Grant Scheme to occupiers of EDC houses containing asbestos panels who are going forward with the construction houses. Thus, promoting the removal of asbestos and encouraging self-help construction.
Application is made in prescribed form at the NHDC Ltd.
EX-CHA
Sale of State Land to owners of Ex-CHA houses
There are 19,442 owners of ex-CHA houses across the island. In order to empower these families to take full responsibility of their assets, Government introduced the "Access to Land Ownership Programme" in 2007 to enable the sale of State Land on which stood the CHA houses, against payment of a nominal amount of Rs 2,000 as per provision of Section 5 (3) of the State Lands Act.
Application is made on the prescribed form which may be collected at the Housing Management Unit (HMU) of the Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning (1st floor, Ebene Tower, Plot 52, Ebene, Cybercity) or downloaded on the link below.
Assistance to owners of ex-CHA housing unit who are facing difficulties in acquiring their plot of land
In 2012, it was found that a number of vulnerable families (e.g., widows, pensioners) could not benefit from this policy due to financial difficulties. Such vulnerable lessees of ex-CHA Housing Estates are assessed on a case-to-case basis and if found eligible, they are granted the land free of charge through a waiving of the purchase price of Rs 2,000/- and registration fees. Also, a Notary Fee of Rs 1,500/- and/or Rs 1,000/- for drawing up of Affidavit of Succession are alo granted to the beneficiary.
Application for financial assistance is done at the Housing Management Unit (HMU) of the Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning.
HOUSING UNITS DELIVERED SINCE NOVEMBER 2019
| SN | Sites | No. of Housing Units completed |
| National Housing Development Co. Ltd (NHDC) |
| 1 | Seizième Mille | 40 |
| 2 | Camp Levieux | 60 |
| 3 | Camp de Masque | 57 |
| 4 | Montagne Longue | 66 |
| 5 | Calebasses | 43 |
| 6 | Baie du Tombeau (Residence Fleur de Lune) | 12 |
| 7 | St Julien d'Hotman | 206 |
| 8 | Quatre Bornes | 102 |
| 9 | Chebel | 92 |
| 10 | Baie du Tombeau (Residence Tulipe) | 150 |
| 11 | Petite Julie | 179 |
| 12 | Chebel | 99 |
| 13 | Gros Cailloux | 126 |
| 14 | Dagotière | 656 |
| 15 | Mare Tabac | 300 |
| 16 | Wooton | 282 |
| 17 | Mare d'Albert | 203 |
| 18 | La Valette | 223 |
| 19 | Solitude | 18 |
| | SUB-TOTAL | 2,914 |
| New Social Living Development Ltd (NSLD) |
| 20 | Olivia (Phase 1) | 64 |
| 21 | Henrietta 3 (Behind NHDC) | 92 |
| 22 | Valetta | 76 |
| 23 | Grand Bel Air (Phase 1) | 96 |
| 24 | Malherbes | 68 |
| | SUB-TOTAL | 396 |
| TOTAL | 3,310 |
