The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing said that it has been granted the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to proceed with the programme of transferring the ownership of State owned housing schemes to its dwellers.

When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (22), the Secretary to the Ministry Wijesekara Sathyananda said that while the Ministry has halted the collection of rent from the respective owners from 31 December of last year (2023), they will have to settle the dues in payments up to the aforementioned date before they receive the deeds of the houses. He noted that the Cabinet granted approval to a Cabinet paper prepared for the particular programme, and that therefore, there is no barrier to proceeding with the project. “Three institutions - the Urban Development Authority, the National Housing Development Authority, and the Urban Settlement Development Authority - are engaged in this project. After the proposal was made by the President, we studied the laws related to these three institutions and drafted a Cabinet Paper, which was granted approval. Accordingly, we can proceed with this further,” he said.

This move was taken by the Ministry following the recent Budget proposal submitted by President and Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies Ranil Wickremesinghe, proposing the complete halt of rent collection from low income families living on rent in housing schemes and flats constructed under various State-owned urban development programmes, and to transfer the ownership of such to the respective dwellers. Delivering the Budget speech for this year (2024), President Wickremesinghe said that houses constructed under various urban development programmes over the years will be handed over to 50,000 families in 2024, ceasing rent collection.