Invest Hotel Scheme (IHS) in Mauritius: Buying a Hotel Room, Costs and Resale

The Invest Hotel Scheme (IHS) lets you buy a room, suite or villa inside a Mauritian hotel as freehold property, on condition that you lease it back to the operator. There is no minimum price for a room or suite, US$375,000 (excluding taxes) for a stand-alone villa, and a residence permit is available from US$375,000 invested. In return, your own use of the unit is capped, and the investment stands or falls on the leaseback contract rather than on the bricks alone.

What the IHS is, and what it is not

The IHS is an Economic Development Board (EDB) regime that allows a hotel developer to finance its project by selling villas, suites or rooms to individual buyers. It rests on the Economic Development Board Act 2017 and the Economic Development Board (Invest Hotel Scheme) Regulations 2015, as amended. The hotel site, freehold or leasehold, must cover more than one hectare.

It is neither a residential programme like PDS, IRS, RES or Smart City, nor a holiday home you can use as you please. You own a unit, but the hotel runs it: the rules require the unit to be leased to the IHS company, which manages, markets and operates it, including the front desk. To compare the other regimes, see PDS vs IRS: the differences for a foreign buyer and the RES.

Who can buy an IHS unit?

The EDB guidelines (April 2024) allow purchases by a non-citizen, a Mauritian citizen, a company incorporated under the Companies Act 2001, a société whose deed of formation is deposited with the Registrar of Companies, and a trust whose trustee is licensed by the Financial Services Commission. A holder of a Global Business Licence cannot buy under the scheme.

A foreign buyer must fund the purchase with money from outside Mauritius, transferred through a bank recognised by the Bank of Mauritius, and pay in a freely convertible currency. A loan in rupees is allowed if the first US$500,000 is paid in a freely convertible currency and the loan is also repaid in one.

What budget, and which residence permit?

The threshold depends on the type of unit. A stand-alone villa cannot be acquired for less than US$375,000 excluding taxes. For a room, a suite or another part of the hotel, no minimum is set.

The residence permit depends on the amount invested: a non-citizen who acquires a unit for at least US$375,000, or the equivalent in a convertible currency, receives resident status under the Immigration Act. This is the same threshold as the other EDB regimes (IRS, RES, PDS), which also open a permit at US$375,000. A room bought below that amount therefore does not carry a permit. The regulations (regulation 11A) extend the status to the spouse or common-law partner, to children under 24 and, under conditions, to an unmarried dependent relative, up to three people. For the next steps, read our guide to residence permits by property purchase.

Compulsory leaseback: how many days can you stay?

After the purchase, the owner signs a contract leasing the unit to the IHS company. The regulations state that this company manages, operates and markets the unit, takes the bookings and runs the front desk. The owner, or someone acting for the owner, may occupy the unit for a capped period in any 12 months. A Premium Visa holder may occupy it for the whole duration of the visa.

The cap is not stated the same way everywhere. The consolidated regulations on the Laws of Mauritius portal and the EDB web page give 45 days in any period of 12 months. The EDB guidelines of April 2024 give 180 days. Before signing, ask for the exact figure in the leaseback contract and in the regulations attached to it, because it determines both your use and your rental income.

The costs to plan for

• Registration duty paid by the buyer: 5% of the price for a room or suite, and a fixed US$70,000 for a stand-alone villa (EDB guidelines).
• Land transfer tax: 5% of the price, paid by the IHS company (same guidelines).
• EDB application fee: Rs 25,000, filed by the IHS company on the PAMS platform.
• Notary fees and other charges: ask the developer, as they are not set out in the guidelines.

The Finance Act 2025 had raised registration duty to 10% on certain purchases by foreigners from 1 July 2026. The Finance Act 2026 repealed that provision (section 3(1G) of the Registration Duty Act is deleted), so the 5% rate stays in place. The 10% additional duty introduced by the same Act falls on the seller and only covers residential property on State land or on pas géométriques transferred to a foreigner, not IHS units. The full breakdown is in the cost of buying property in Mauritius.

How the purchase works

A unit can be sold off plan, during construction or once completed. Off plan, the contract follows the sale in a future state of completion regime of the Mauritian Civil Code: the developer must have filed its reservation contract, its sale contract and the completion guarantee issued by a Mauritian bank with the EDB, failing which the EDB considers no application.

At reservation, the buyer pays up to 25% of the price into an escrow account opened in their name. A non-citizen’s file includes the authenticated first five pages of the passport, the authenticated birth certificate, a certificate of morality less than three months old and a bank letter confirming the identity check. The price is then paid as the works progress:

What return to expect

No official text sets the return on an IHS unit: it comes from the leaseback contract, project by project. As an indication, a Mauritian agency reports a guaranteed rental return of 5% for three years on one project, and a 4% annual guarantee on another, with guarantee periods running from 3 to 5 years depending on the project. These figures are dated commercial offers, not market benchmarks. What matters most is what happens after the guaranteed period, and who bears the charges. To put these rates in context, compare them with rental yields by town.

Reselling an IHS unit

The owner may resell with no minimum price. They must give the EDB Chief Executive Officer written notice at least 30 days before the sale, with a copy to the IHS company and to the syndic. The buyer must belong to one of the categories allowed to purchase, file their own application with the EDB and pay a Rs 25,000 fee. The pool of buyers is therefore narrower than for an ordinary apartment; for the full resale rules, see selling property in Mauritius as a foreigner.

What to check before signing

• The exact cap on your stays and how it is counted in the contract.
• The length of the leaseback contract, the rent after the guaranteed period and the charges you bear.
• The strength of the operator: the income depends on the operator, not on the unit.
• The bank completion guarantee and the opening of the escrow account before any payment.
• The US$375,000 threshold if you are aiming for the residence permit, taxes excluded.

For a hotel project or to compare with properties on the market, see our hotels for sale in Mauritius and our new-build programmes.

Sources and checks

• Economic Development Board – Guidelines Invest Hotel Scheme (April 2024)
• Economic Development Board – Real Estate & Hospitality
• Laws of Mauritius – Economic Development Board (Invest Hotel Scheme) Regulations 2015
• National Assembly of Mauritius – Finance Act 2026 (Act No. 14)
• Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Invest Hotel Scheme
• Residency Mauritius – Invest Hotel Scheme
• Décordier Immobilier – IHS Mauritius (market survey)