A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering of the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1977

The Ceiling on Housing Property Law was implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka in an attempt to promote a more equitable distribution of resources in the housing sector, when wide disparities were found to exist in housing conditions especially in urban areas where the problem was manifested in the form of slum- landlordism. This study reveals the outcome of this act, which is in its fifth year of implementation in the country. The main theme of the study is the disclosure of the complexities involved in implementing an act which deals with the transfer of ownership rights in a bureaucracy. The extent to which the act penetrated the masses, the relentless struggle of the bureaucracy in pursuit of its objectives envisaged amidst all difficulties that obstruct its implementation, the immense task of the organization that lay ahead, the socio-economic conditions of the people intercepted by the act, and the extent of improvements in their housing conditions are some aspects this ·study attempts to reveal within the framework permitted in undertaking this study. The delays in execution of the act caused by the bureaucratic procedures involved in the transfer of the vested houses and thereby the subsidies the Government is committed to, are highlighted in the evaluation of the study. A list of recommendations attempted to rectify this situation is suggested in the conclusion of the study.