Johor Affordable Homes Can Only Be Sold After 10 Years, Sabah Has The Most Number Of PPR Projects And, More
21st March – 27th March
The state government of Johor has introduced a new policy that requires owners of affordable housing units (RMMJ) worth RM150,000 or less to wait 10 years before they can sell the home to third parties.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Local Government Development (KPKT) said Sabah has the highest number of People’s Housing Programme (PPR) projects in Malaysia, with 38 projects involving 26,099 units.
1. Johor affordable homes can only be sold after 10 years
The state government of Johor has introduced a new policy that requires owners of affordable housing units (RMMJ) worth RM150,000 or less to wait 10 years before they can sell the home to third parties.
This is to ensure that the affordable home provided by the state to the B40 group is not being misused by irresponsible individuals, reported Bernama.
Previously, owners of RMMJ units can sell their homes to third parties after five years. However, this period was changed to 10 years starting 1 January this year, said Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, Chairman of the State Housing and Local Government Committee.
“If there are any attempts to sell the RMMJ units before the stipulated period, the Land Office will prevent the transaction “legally”, that is the change of name in the grant will not be allowed,” he said.
2. Sabah has the most number of PPR projects
The Ministry of Local Government Development (KPKT) said Sabah has the highest number of People’s Housing Programme (PPR) projects in Malaysia, with 38 projects involving 26,099 units.
“Out of that number, 34 PPR projects involving a total of 23,509 units have been completed while four more PPR projects involving 2,590 units are still under construction,” said KPKT as quoted by Bernama.
PPR Batu Putih, Sandakan, which has 900 units, is among the PPR projects that is presently being prepared for occupancy.
While it was completed on 28 November 2019, PPR Batu Putih could not be occupied earlier due to repair works conducted since it was used as a COVID-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre.
3. Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan to benefit 20,000 borrowers
The government has revealed that the Skim Rumah Pertamaku (SRP) programme, which offers funding for first-time home buyers, will be replaced by the Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan (SJKP).
SKJP will see the government, via Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan Bhd, guarantee loans of up to RM5 billion, benefitting 20,000 borrowers.
SJKP, which was aimed at helping gig workers and those with no fixed income to own a house without a downpayment, was launched last year by the Local Government Development Ministry and the Finance Ministry.
As of 31 December 2022, the programme had benefitted 16,808 borrowers, who have been given loans worth RM2.32 billion, reported Free Malaysia Today.
Meanwhile, SRP was launched in 2011 to help first-time house buyers with household income of below RM10,000 own a house without a downpayment. It also helped first-time buyers secure financing of up to 110% from participating banks.
The programme, however, will be discontinued on 1 April.
4. KPKT sets up special committee to address sick, abandoned housing projects
The Local Government Development Ministry (KPKT) is attempting to solve the issue of sick or abandoned housing projects, which has affected around 125,000 homebuyers.
KPKT Deputy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir noted that more than 1,000 housing projects, including 115 abandoned projects and 437 sick projects, faced difficulties as of 31 January 2023.
With this, a special committee, which he will chair himself, will be created to make sure that the records of problems encountered every month are dynamic with progress towards resolving them, reported the New Straits Times.
“For example, at the developer level, if there are issues with delays in approvals from local authorities, we will assist in expediting the process or feedback,” he said.
This will ensure the projects’ status do not deteriorate, which would force the government to interfere – something that it wishes to avoid.
Akmal pointed that housing developments are the developers’ responsibility, while the job of the government is to oversee, ensuring that they are completed.
5. Value of construction projects to hit RM150 billion this year
Malaysia’s construction industry has returned to pre-2020 growth, with total value of construction projects expected to hit RM150 billion this year, compared to last year’s RM140 billion.
“Since Malaysia’s transition to the endemic phase, the construction industry has bounced back with growth similar to pre-2020,” said Datuk Ahmad Asri Abdul Hamid, Chief Executive Officer of Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), at International Construction Week 2023’s (ICW 2023) soft launch.
He believes that ESG (environmental, social, and governance) is a key factor in the construction industry and can be achieved via the adoption of technology, reported The Star.
“With ESG as the ‘goalpost’ and having technology as the drivers of transformation, we can improve sustainability, quality and safety,” he said.
ICW 2023 will be hosted by CIDB, with the theme “Leading ESG in Construction”. It will be held from 15 to 17 November at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre.
6. High-rise building residents in Penang sleepless over landslide concerns
Penang residents living near a highway project construction site on a steep slope are losing sleep over landslide worries due to the large scale clearing of the hills.
Richard Lim, a residents’ association committee member at the Kingfisher Series Condominium, said the authorities and project developer provided no guarantees that the hill clearing will not lead to any disaster.
The RM851 million bypass project spans 6km, connecting Lebuhraya Thean Teik in Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, reported Malay Mail. Lim pointed that condominium residents were never informed about it prior to its commencement.
Penang Forum member Khoo Salma noted that the highway will only be 50 metre to 100 metre away from 17 high-rise apartment blocks.
With this, the Penang Forum urged the state government and the project developer to hold a town hall session to assure affected residents of their safety.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman, on the other hand, wants authorities to explain the details of the project.
7. Government urged to assume responsibility on providing social housing
REHDA Institute Chairman Datuk Jeffrey Ng Tiong Lip urged the government to take on the responsibility of providing social housing, particularly for the B40 and M40 groups.
He believes it is “unproductive and wasteful to have a huge stock of unoccupied or unsold units including Bumiputera units” in the private sector, reported the New Straits Times.
As such, affordable housing quotas should not be imposed across the board at all private developments, said Ng.
He pointed that cross-subsidies to private housing development projects have become punitive due to increasing compliance, land, labour, building material and other costs as well as the slow property market.
He hoped upcoming affordable housing projects would not fall within the overhang category, which saw 27,746 overhang units in 2022, showed National Property Information Centre’s Property Market Report 2022.
