On November 8, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Iranian regime’s Parliament, presented new information about land distribution at the “National Housing Foundation’s General Assembly.” He revealed: “The National Land and Housing Organization under the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development possesses empty lands twice the size of the total residential areas of the country.”
This information highlights that monopolization of land by government entities and land speculators is one of the largest obstacles to resolving Iran’s housing crisis. According to the latest official statistics, land accounted for 47% of the total housing costs in urban areas in 2021, rising to 70% in Tehran. Reducing land prices is the first step to solving the housing crisis, which requires dismantling land monopolies.
New statistics presented by Ghalibaf demonstrate that land availability for housing construction directly depends on the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development’s policies. He disclosed that the Ministry and the National Land and Housing Organization control 18 billion square meters of land (1,814,000 hectares).
Land hoarding by speculators has caused land prices to soar by a staggering 3,447 times over three decades. This underscores the role of these organizations in hoarding and monopolizing land rather than supplying it for housing development. According to the Statistical Center of Iran, housing now consumes 42.4% of urban household expenses nationwide, rising to 55.8% in Tehran—far above the global standard of 30%. Consequently, the time needed to own a house averages 48 years in smaller cities and 150 years in Tehran, highlighting a critical housing challenge.
Abbas Soufi, a member of the Parliament’s Construction Commission, stated that Iran currently faces a housing deficit of 7 million units. This imbalance stems partly from a 1999 High Council of Architecture and Urban Planning resolution limiting urban sprawl, which allowed land speculators and government entities to monopolize land. Over the past three decades, the price of free-market dollars has increased 366-fold, while housing prices rose 1,600-fold and land prices in Tehran surged 3,447-fold.
Land prices have risen faster than general inflation, driving unchecked increases in housing costs. Claiming a “land shortage,” the Iranian government has promoted dense urban development in major cities. This policy has forced many residents to migrate to city outskirts.
With the land controlled by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Iran could create 30 cities the size of Tehran. According to territorial planning documents, 16% of the country’s area is suitable for habitation, but due to land monopolization, only 2% is designated for housing. This shows that the housing crisis stems not from a land shortage but from monopolies.
Allocating just 6% of this land for housing could accommodate 10 million families in 100-square-meter homes, permanently resolving the housing deficit. Government entities’ land hoarding has rendered many Iranians homeless, forcing some to live in graves, water pipes, rooftops, or buses.
Meanwhile, state-run media report that Tehran alone has 2 million vacant housing units, mostly owned by banks and economic holdings of government organizations.
