The Government of Rwanda's new instructions to guide settlement and management or transfer of house ownership for vulnerable citizens it supports, are now into force. The ministerial instructions of June 30, 2025, relating to the settling of persons, were published in the Official Gazette on the same date. Issued by the Minister of Local Government, Patrice Mugenzi, these new guidelines clarify procedures and responsibilities regarding the settlement and transfer of home ownership. The new order repealed the 2017 instructions and aims to improve coordination, welfare, and accountability in the settlement process, according to the document. ALSO READ: Govt secures over $26 million to build houses for disaster-affected families It was indicated in the document that the issuance of the instructions followed observed issues such as the existence of many problems related to the issuance of title deeds, damaged buildings, welfare of settled persons as well as the management of settling and transferring the ownership of houses to the citizens. Also, it showed that it was necessary to determine the modalities that the government and its partners apply in the selection, settlement, management and transferring the ownership of the houses to the citizens as well as to determine the role of each relevant institution in the management of the property. Scope and the selection criteria for beneficiaries The updated instructions apply to settling the neediest survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, vulnerable disabled former combatants, people expropriated or relocated from their residences for public interest projects, residents of high-risk zones, victims of natural disasters, and other vulnerable people unable to build or rent decent homes. ALSO READ: Kigali: 6,000 families to be relocated from high-risk zones The persons to be settled are selected based on household living conditions and socioeconomic status, verified by relevant local or national bodies including the committee of survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi; the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission; and district councils and disaster committees. Key changes in home ownership transfer As per the new instructions, home ownership can now be transferred to a person who contributed to the house’s construction, regardless of the contribution amount, and any individual deemed appropriate by the Minister of Local Government. For Genocide survivors and disabled former combatants, the land title comes with a caveat—they must seek the approval of the district or City of Kigali before selling, mortgaging, or passing the house on through inheritance. In the 2017 instructions, the criteria for transferring house ownership to the settled person included that at least five years must have elapsed from the time they signed a settlement contract. But in case they indicated good practices to get lifted out of poverty, they could get the house before the five years pass. ALSO READ: Govt needs Rwf13bn to relocate 19,000 families from high-risk zones The 2017 instructions also provided for what a settled person was not allowed to do. This included giving the house as collateral, donation, inheritance, or selling it without authorisation by competent organs, lending it, renting it, or transforming it into a livestock shed. Deprivation of rights on the house The new guidelines also provide for grounds on which a person resettled in a house built by the government or its partner shall forfeit it. They include the sale of the house; using it as collateral; using or occupying it in a manner that contravenes these regulations; abandoning it; or when a person was allocated the house while already owning another one, or do not meet the eligibility criteria. They warned that the sale or mortgage of the house without official authorisation to the resettled person shall be deemed null and void. Settlement methods The government may resettle people through lending a house to individuals who did not contribute to the construction, transferring ownership when the occupant has contributed or it is granted by ministerial decision, and renting where the government or partners provide housing at a cost set by local councils. In all cases, contracts must be signed between the occupant and the local authority to define rights and responsibilities. The guidelines specified that a person to whom a house is lent should be vulnerable or not able to obtain or rent a house, or a citizen who receives a house from the Government because a district or the City of Kigali deems it necessary. They also indicated that the cost of rent is determined by the council of a district or the City of Kigali where the house in question is built, based on the size of the house, its location and the living standard of the occupant. Responsibilities of settled people Settled people must maintain cleanliness (no indoor cooking with damaging combustibles or keeping domestic animals); pay rent for the house if he or she rents it; pay for utilities (such as water and electricity); preserve the condition of the house and its materials; and rehabilitate the building without changing its structure and seek permission from authorities before any structural changes are made. The responsibilities also include avoiding disrupting neighbours. Occupant must also engage in income-generating or community development projects. Responsibilities of a district or the City of Kigali A district or the City of Kigali has the responsibility to monitor the use and management of the houses and infrastructure to ensure social welfare of the citizens who were settled and have contracts regarding the management of the houses for those who rent or were lent them. Authorities aslo authorise the delivery of certificates of land registration and ensure that citizens receive them.
