Forex housing loan scheme for Sri Lanka’s migrant workers

April 3, 2024
0
Share
Forex housing loan scheme for Sri Lanka’s migrant workers
Forex housing loan scheme for Sri Lanka’s migrant workers

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Employment Bureau and National Housing Development Authority is to partner with licensed banks in the Island to offer a housing loan programme for migrant workers, which could be paid in foreign currency.
Under this scheme, migrant workers are said to be able to secure upto 10Million Rupees as loan for housing purposes and part of the loan sum of will be borne by the Foreign Employment Bureau.
The loan sum received under this scheme should be paid by foreign exchange remitted via legally approved channels. The Proposal put forth by the Minister of Employment for implementing a housing shceme for overseas employees was approved by the Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers. Worker remittances is one of the major sources of foreign income to Sri Lanka.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යාංශය සහ ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය, සංක්‍රමණික ශ්‍රමිකයින් සඳහා විදේශ මුදලින් ගෙවිය හැකි නිවාස ණය වැඩසටහනක් පිරිනැමීම සඳහා දිවයිනේ බලපත්‍රලාභී බැංකු සමඟ හවුල් වීමට නියමිතය.
මෙම යෝජනා ක්‍රමය යටතේ විගමණික ශ්‍රමිකයින්ට නිවාස අවශ්‍යතා සඳහා රුපියල් මිලියන 10ක් දක්වා ණය මුදලක් ලබා ගත හැකි බව පැවසෙන අතර එම ණය මුදලින් කොටසක් විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යාංශය විසින් දරනු ලැබේ.
මෙම යෝජනා ක්‍රමය යටතේ ලැබෙන ණය මුදල ගෙවිය යුත්තේ නීත්‍යානුකූලව අනුමත මාර්ග හරහා එවන විදේශ විනිමය මගිනි. විදේශගත සේවකයින් සඳහා නිවාස යෝජනා ක්‍රමයක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සඳහා රැකියා අමාත්‍යවරයා විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද යෝජනාව ශ්‍රී ලංකා කැබිනට් අමාත්‍යවරුන් විසින් අනුමත කරන ලදී. ශ්‍රමිකයන්ගේ ප්‍රේෂණ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට විදේශ ආදායම් උපයන ප්‍රධාන මූලාශ්‍රයකි.

Related Posts

Guide for Buying a Property in Sri Lanka

December 1, 2020
0

Sri Lanka formerly known as Ceylon is an island country lying in the Indian Ocean and separated from peninsular India by the Palk Strait. Proximity to the Indian subcontinent has facilitated close cultural interaction between Sri Lanka and India from ancient times. At a crossroads of maritime routes traversing the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka has also been exposed to cultural influences from other Asian civilizations. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane. Arabs referred to it as Serendib. Later European mapmakers called it Ceylon, a name still used occasionally for trade purposes. It officially became Sri Lanka in 1972.

The buying process in Sri Lanka is not very different from many other countries. But the most important part about the buying process is to engage an independent lawyer or notary you can trust. As in almost every other country, the buying process cannot be completed without a lawyer or notary. If you are planning to buy property you should choose the one you can trust and if you are a foreigner, find a lawyer who speaks English, as well as the native language of the seller, in order to avoid communication problems or problems with the contract.

Finding a property can be quite hard since people from Sri Lanka often do not advertise what they sell but due to technological advances, there are online websites like Ceylon Property – where you can find all the latest properties for sale or rent in Sri Lanka. Also, there are real estate agents that can find you the ideal property. Real estate agents in Sri Lanka are not licensed so check their reputation and talk to other ex-pats or locals who have experience in buying property. Sometimes they charge a commission from both sides: buyer and seller. Try to negotiate and agree on a commission before you sign anything.

Negotiating the Price and Legal Checks

Having found the house or property of your dreams you should make an offer to the seller or negotiate the price. Be prepared for a lot of bargaining. Sri Lankans often raise the price tremendously when selling to a foreigner.

Your lawyer will check the deeds and the plan of property at the Land Registry to ensure that the seller is the only and legal owner. Further checks should be made for eventual debts or leasing agreements. 

If there are some ambiguities and you still want to buy it, you should buy a title insurance to protect you from any future claims to the land. Usually the ownership should be clear though (and it may not be the best plan to buy it if there are doubts).

Signing the Contract

If both parties agree on a price, the lawyer sets up a contract that seller and buyer have to sign. In the case that there are more owners each of them has to sign the contract. You usually pay a deposit of 10% of the whole price afterwards if you can’t pay all at once. Having signed the contract you need to pay a service tax to the local authority. It is about Rs400 – Rs5,000 (€2 – €30) and has to be paid every year.

After that, the seller needs to get a building and street line certificate from the municipality as well as a non-vesting and ownership proof. He also needs tax receipts for proof of payment of rates and taxes for the last quarter as well as the certificate of conformity in respect of the building.

Then the seller has to request an updated survey plan that has to be attached when applying for the registration later.

After finishing the deed of transfer, the stamp duty (around 3% – 4%) has to be paid at a nominated bank within seven days in favour of the responsible Provincial Council.

Finally the lawyer/ notary has to register the deed at the Land Registry and the new owner at the municipality. You receive a certificate of ownership. No deal is closed and legal until the new owner is registered.

Important Documents Required for an Apartment Registration in Sri Lanka

December 4, 2020
0

Every Property is supposed to have certain legal documents that show the overall information about the property. These documents are provided by the local municipality and also other government departments. Planning to buy a property? Well, get ready for major paperwork as the process involves providing (to authorities and the bank in case you are taking a home loan) and acquiring several documents (this ensures your ownership over the property). Here is a list of documents that are required for buying an Apartment in Sri Lanka:

Title Deed of the Apartment

Every Property in Sri Lanka has a Deed which is a formal document that confirms the interest, right, for the property and Title is a legal term that establishes the lawful ownership of a property owned by an individual or an organization. The “Title” is very important because it establishes the history of the property and it shows how ‘healthy’ is the property. The accepted practice is to check the pedigree of the “Title” going back 25 to 30 years. Therefore, the first step is to get the title clearance through an independent Lawyer/ Notary Public whom you can trust.

Condominium Declaration

Condominium Declaration is a legal document filed in the county or district in which a condominium will be located. Once filed with the appropriate public official, this document establishes the existence of the project and divides airspace into layers of ownership. A Condominium Declaration, also sometimes known as Master Deed, is a fundamental document that establishes the existence of and further governs the use and maintenance of a condominium property. It is regulated by the Condominium Act and it includes legal descriptions of the condominium and of each individual unit, the nature and scope of the development project (when applicable), and several provisions regarding the use of the condominium units and common areas.

Building Plan

Every Building or Apartment Complex has a building plan that shows the overall plan of the building and this is an important document that gests verified by the Municipal Council in the respective District or City.

Certificate of Conformity (COC)

The Certificate of Conformity (COC) is a formal certification that approval or certificate of conformity is granted to a product that meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical, and safety requirements. It is important to obtain the Certificate of Conformity (COC) and it ensures that the Apartment fulfills all the safety requirements of the Municipality.

Approved Lot Plan of the Land

Every Land has a master plan in which every plot of land is surveyed and there is a approved lot plan that is approved by the government. This approved documents is essential in the registration process.

Certificate of Ownership

This is an approved and certified certificate that shows the actual owner of the property or Apartment. This document is also very vital in the registration process. It is provided by the Assessment Department of the relevant Municipal Council in the respective District or City.

Non-Vesting Certificate

Non-Vesting Certificate is also an important document that is required for the Apartment registration and it is obtained by the relevant Municipal Council in the respective District or City.

Street Line Certification

This is also a formal document that is certified and issued by the local Pradeshiya Sabha and this document will clarify the actual street line of the property. The importance of this certificate is that the Pradeshiya Sabha is empowered to take action on building constructed by violating the street line.

Extracts of the Apartment

Extracts are a formal document that shows the overall history of the land and it is essential to check the extracts of a certain land before purchasing it. This document is proof that the property has an entry in the local municipal records and the construction has been done according to an approved plan. Banks ask for this paper before granting you a home loan. It is important to obtain extracts of the land going back to at least 25 – 30 years.

Valuation

Valuation is a formal document that is obtained after the Licensed Valuer values the Apartment in order to show the overall value of the Apartment. The Valuation Process is important because there is a part in the registration process where the buyer has to submit the actual value provided by the valuer to the Inland Revenue Department and then they approve it in order to pay the stamp duty.