Fijians who want to lease land with titles but do not have means to afford it, will now be assisted by the Government.

Government will also settle lease arrears accumulated from April 1, 2020 to April 1, 2022 for holders of land leases who have some sort of disabilities or are facing financial hardships with low income.

Over the weekend, application forms were released by the Ministry of Economy.

Fijians who cannot afford to have their residential leases surveyed to ensure that they are able to at­tain formal documentation for land boundaries and a registered title will be assisted in this initiative.

Those who also wished to secure land for agricultural purposes and could not afford to have their agri­culture leases surveyed would be assisted.

The initiatives are part of govern­ment’s programme to support Fiji­ans in securing land for construc­tion of homes, land for agricultural purposes and help for the vulner­able and disadvantaged in the com­munity.

It would be coordinated by the Ministry of Economy in consulta­tion with the Ministry of Hous­ing and Community Development, Ministry of Lands and Mineral Re­sources and the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB).

Survey of residential leases

To be eligible for this assistance, applicants:

• Must be a Fijian citizen residing in Fiji;
• Must have an annual household income of $50,000 or less;
• The tenant must be fully compli­ant with lease conditions; and
• Applicants must not own any other residential leases or freehold properties.

Forms are available at any Legal Aid Commission Office across Fiji, Ministry of Housing office at 33 Gorrie Street and in the Housing Authority offices in Lautoka and Labasa.

Documents that submitted with a completed application form are:

• Certified Copy of Photo Identifi­cation;
• Birth Certificate;
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Letter or Joint FNPF/FRCS card;
• Copy of Lease Document;
• Statutory Declaration of Income; and
• Any other relevant supporting documentation such as salary slip and/or bank statement.

Applicants are to submit their ap­plication form before 4pm on May 1, 2022 to the email account: residen­tial.survey@govnet.gov.fj or hand-deliver the relevant ministries.

Approved applicants will be noti­fied by letter as to which surveyor has been selected to carry out the work.

Payments would be made directly by the Government to the surveyor as per the approved payment sched­ule in the service agreement be­tween the respective agency and the surveyor.

Survey of agricultural leases

To be eligible, applicants:

• Must be a Fijian citizen residing in Fiji;
• Total farming income must not exceed $50,000 per annum
• The tenant must be fully compli­ant with lease conditions; and
• Applicants having more than one agricultural lease can only ap­ply for one lease to be surveyed un­der this program.

Application forms would be made available at all offices of the Minis­try of Lands and Mineral Resourc­es (MLMR) and the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB).

The following documents must be submitted with a completed applica­tion form:

• Certified Copy of Photo Identifi­cation;
• Birth Certificate;
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Letter or Joint FNPF/FRCS card;
• Copy of Lease Document;
• Statutory Declaration of Income; and
• Any other relevant supporting documentation.

All applications are to be submit­ted before 4pm on May 1, 2022 to the following email account: surveyfa­cilitation@economy.gov.fj or hand-delivered to any MLMR office or TLTB office.

Approved applicants would be no­tified by letter as to which surveyor has been selected to carry out the works.

Payments would be made directly by the Government to the surveyor as per the approved payment sched­ule in the service agreement be­tween the respective agency and the surveyor.

Lease arrears facilitation

To be eligible, applicants:

• Must be a Fijian citizen residing in Fiji;
• Household annual income can­not exceed $50,000; and
• Applicants having more than one agricultural/residential lease may only apply for one to be paid under this program.

Application forms will be made available at all offices of the Minis­try of Lands and Mineral Resourc­es (MLMR) and the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB).

The following documents MUST be submitted with a completed applica­tion form:

• Certified copy of photo identifi­cation;
• Birth Certificate;
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Letter or Joint FNPF/FRCS card;
• Recent Lease Statement as con­firmation of lease arrears;
• Medical Report to indicate Dis­ability (if applicable);
• Statutory Declaration of Income; and
• Any other relevant documenta­tion which indicates the inability to pay lease arrears, if any.

All applications are to be submit­ted before 4 pm on May 1, 2022 to the following email account: leasear­rearsfacilitation@economy.gov.fj or hand-delivered to any MLMR Office or TLTB office.

Successful applicants will be in­formed by letter, and payments will be made directly by the Govern­ment to MLMR for state-land lease arrears and iTLTB for native lease arrears.

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