There is a very limited transition of tenants leaving rental housing to owning a property in all Public Rental Board estates in Fiji, which is a current challenge.

PRB General Manager Timoci Naleba says that this is due to the affordability issue and the high price of homes available in the market.

He says that the Public Rental Board current policy allows a maximum of six years for tenants to stay in PRB flats before moving out to owning a home of their own, but this is not the case as the organization continues to shortfall on the supply of rental units based on the number of interested applicants received annually.

PRB General Manager Timoci Naleba

“Now, probably the reason is because there’s not much there in the market, in the housing market, that they can afford. So the affordability issue is still there. Secondly, our tenants will have to have the financial capability to move out to own a property, meaning that they have to be able to buy land and also to build a house.”

Naleba says that, however, the government has few initiatives available that are affordable for securing a home, including the subdivisions by the Native Land Trust Board.

Minister for Housing Maciu Nalumisa has also confirmed that the government is also working on formalizing a few informal settlements around the country that would assist in the government’s housing plans.

Meanwhile, PRB is also promoting economic and financial empowerment to tenants through financial literacy training to improve budget management and savings amongst tenants.