Oman issues new laws for granting government lands

Muscat: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning has issued the terms and conditions for granting government lands. The Ministry has a right to grant one government residential land plot to an applicant wishing to have one in approved maps.

The Ministry explained that the terms stated below govern the granting of government residential lands to applicants who meet the conditions:

* If the applicant is a man, he should have attained the age of 23 years, to be the supporter of a family constituting a wife and children or either of the two or to be the supporter of one parent. If the man is supporting only himself, he should be aged 40 years. The title deed will be issued in the name of the two spouses if the man is a family supporter.

* If the applicant is a woman, she should have attained the age of 23 years and should be the sole supporter of her family or married to a non-Omani and permanently resident in the Sultanate or divorced or widow or deserted and has no children or is self-supporter provided she is aged not less than 40 years.

* Priority in granting government residential land is given to a family that does not possess a house or residential land suitable for building.

* It is not permissible to sell granted lands, except after the completion of construction in accordance with the terms and conditions set in a decision to be issued by the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning.

* For granting government residential land to a family, it is a condition that no member of the family has been granted a government residential land as per the provisions of the Royal Decree on granting government residential lands.

* A government residential land is granted to an applicant in his respective wilayat or in the wilayat where the applicant has his/her permanent premises of work, depending on circumstances.

* It is possible to exempt some applications from some of the above-mentioned terms and conditions on granting government residential lands in accordance with rules to be set under a decision issued by the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning and after the approval of the Council of Ministers.

* Applications registered previously will not be cancelled. They will be dealt with as per the terms and conditions stated in Royal Decree No. 42/2021. Those applicants will be distributed in accordance with a set of criteria, including precedence of application, the number of family members and whether the family possesses a residence or an existing land plot suitable for building.

* In case the wife applies in one governorate and the husband applies in another governorate, the two applications will be merged in one application to be given the date of the earlier application. In this case, the land will be granted in the governorate to which the husband belongs or is his permanent premises of work.

* If the applicant possesses a built residential land plot, his/her application will not be cancelled, but the applicant will not be given priority among entitled persons.

* It is not permissible to sell the granted land plot except after the completion of its construction.

* As per the law, it is permissible to grant a woman a residential land plot if she is aged 23 and is the supporter of a family. If a woman is not the supporter of a family, she can be granted a land plot only after she attains the age of 40.

* In condition that a spouse is granted a land plot, the application of the other spouse is deemed null, since the purpose is to provide the family with a residential land.

* Ownership of a commercial land plot or a commercial building has nothing to do with granting residential land.

* In the case of a woman married to a non-Omani, it is a condition to grant her a government residential land from the State provided she is a permanent resident of the Sultanate, with her residency evidenced through standard methods of authentication.

According to the law, an application is not cancelled if the applicant is not aged 23, but in this case the applicant has to wait until he/she is aged 23, and only then conditions stated by the law are applied.