Changes in National Housing Policy to be unveiled in September

Under this public housing segment, private developers want to establish affordable housing at RM500,000 while the government wants it at the RM300,000 level.

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be a considerable number of changes in the National Housing Policy expected to be announced in September which includes the rental-tenancy market, the National Housing Department said.

Some of the laws will take two years to study and establish but the wheels of change are in the works, its director general N. Jayaselan said on Wednesday. These changes had been studied since one and half years ago.

He added new laws on commercial properties and rental legislation are being studied, and housing price thresholds to be built by public -private sectors.

Issues and legislations are being scrutinised based on what other countries are doing or have accomplished with the aim to make property development a sustainable sector, he said.

"Within the national policy there will be a subset on public housing, " he said at the “Affordable Housing Conference 2018”.

Under this public housing segment, private developers want to establish affordable housing at RM500,000 while the government wants it at the RM300,000 level. 

While the pricing threshold has yet to be agreed on, both the public and private sector have agreed about dividing the country into different regions  in order to establish clarity in pricing.

Six  agencies will come under the ministry namely PR1MA, Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd, RumahWIP, UDA, 1Malaysia Public Housing and Perumahan Penjawat Awam Malaysia (PPA1M), he said.

The rise in small offices home offices (SoHos) which come with residential element has made it necessary to have new laws governing such projects to protect buyers as well as establish clear cut guidelines governing such developments.

Jayaselan said while the national housing policy is being worked on and to be announced in September, the collection and recording of data from developers by the National Housing  Department and the National Property Information Centre (Napic) is expected to begin in January 2019.