A growing lack of secure housing in Tonga is increasingly being recognised as a major issue, with authorities identifying informal village settlements, rising demand for land, and the government withdrawing housing support from individuals occupying land they do not own.
Speaking during recent public meetings held as part of the Ministry of Lands’ reform programme, Lands Minister Taniela Fusimālohi said many people were now living informally on village land or boarding with relatives and other households because they did not have land of their own.
He noted that the situation had become evident when, in some instances, town officers were unable to explain how some individuals had settled on specific parcels of land.
“Homelessness is clearly evident in Tonga,” the Minister said in Tongan.
Fusimālohi warned that population growth and limited government-controlled land could create serious challenges in the coming decades for people seeking allotments for housing and cultivation.
“There may come a time—whether in 20 or 30 years—when it will be difficult for the Minister for Lands to meet the demand from people seeking land to live on,” he said in Tongan.
The Minister said that the number of people requesting land from the Ministry for housing continues to grow, but there is still no land available for them.
He said only 47 percent of Tonga’s land is administered directly by the government as freehold land available for allocation to the public.
This means the remaining 53 percent is controlled under the authority of the King and the nobility. It is understood that a large proportion of the population resides on these lands without formal ownership arrangements.
In effect, their occupancy depends on the consent of the King or the nobility, who retain the right to evict them at any time.
Assistance Withdrawn Over Land Rights
Fusimālohi revealed that last year he and Ministry staff provided mobile and prefabricated houses to people living in poor housing conditions, but later withdrew the assistance after discovering the occupants did not own the land where the houses had been placed.
He said the decision was made to prevent landowners from evicting occupants and taking ownership of their homes.
The Minister linked the growing pressure on land to Tonga’s youthful population, saying the 2021 Census showed about 45 percent of Tongans were under the age of 25.
Many of them, he said, were either beginning to establish families or would do so in the coming years, increasing future demand for town and bush allotments.
Land Policy Faces Sustainability Challenges
Fusimālohi said the law guarantees citizens access to government town allotments for housing and bush allotments for cultivation, but acknowledged that the long-term sustainability of the system is now under pressure.
He said the government’s proposal to reduce town allotments from 30 poles to 15 poles, as previously reported by Kaniva News, reflected a historical trend of gradually reducing land sizes to preserve availability for future generations.
According to the Minister, allotments were previously 80 poles and later 60 poles before eventually being reduced to 30.
He said the reductions occurred after authorities recognised that larger allotments would eventually contribute to land shortages.
Fusimālohi said some individuals currently hold leases on land measuring about 16 poles for commercial and building purposes.
Backlog Revealed In Reviews
The Minister’s disclosure follows his earlier revelation that internal reviews had identified a backlog exceeding 7,000 land surveying applications, case files, and public complaints.
The Minister said the findings formed part of broader concerns that the Ministry had failed to maintain proper professional standards, including allegations involving poor administration of land rights and potentially corrupt practices affecting members of the public.
He also described conditions at the Ministry’s main office as disorganised, saying records had previously been poorly managed and stored inconsistently throughout the building.
