Ministry to introduce new public housing model, says Nga

HONG KONG: The Housing and Local Government Ministry is coming up with a new model of public housing named "Program Residensi Rakyat (PRR)", says its minister Nga Kor Ming.

He said the PRR would be well-integrated, sustainable and liveable, accommodating quality commercial viability, green spaces, community centre and other features.

The construction cost of each PRR unit, he said, would also be increased to RM300,000, offering the low-income group quality homes with a piecemeal price.

Under the new PRR, a unit costing RM300,000 would be sold at RM60,000.

Out of the RM60,000, about RM10,000 to RM15,000 will be set aside for maintenance and sinking funds.

"There will also be a moratorium whereby for 10 years, you cannot sell the PRR unit, as we do not want irresponsible parties to take advantage of our social housing because this is a privilege for you to be afforded a heavy subsidy," he told Bernama and The Edge at the Asia Real Estate Leader's (AREL) Study Tour Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China Edition.

The study tour was initiated by Rehda Institute, the research and training arm of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia, with over 50 delegates visiting many unique sites, covering urban redevelopment and public housing policies and strata laws.

The delegates consisted of various stakeholders including architects, surveyors, valuers, researchers, developers, town planners, lawyers, bankers and government authorities.

The minimum size for the PRR would be 750 square feet (sq ft) with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Nga said the ministry would also emphasise connectivity through transit-oriented development (TOD), which is expected to reduce the number of vehicles and car park lots.

The PPR will also be integrated with green buildings, making it 30% lower in energy costs compared with standard buildings.

"We are hoping to get an extra budget. Compared with Singapore’s HDB which has an annual budget of SG$30bil, Malaysia's PPR only gets RM550mil, which is too small," he said.

Meanwhile, Nga also called upon developers especially active members of Rehda and financial institutions to help the government to develop the many ageing buildings in the country especially those that are categorised as unsafe.

He added that the common engineering standard benchmark for a building's lifespan is 70 years on average.

However, Nga said the situation is still challenging as currently, the consent threshold needs 100% consent.

"Therefore the ministry is proposing a consent threshold between 75% to 80%, depending on the age of the building, and subject to further discussion," said the minister adding that the Act also proposed to cover abandoned projects with 51% consent threshold.

Nga also stressed that while there would be a lot of opportunities for property developers to explore in the urban redevelopment effort, owners of existing property would be compensated fairly subject to valuation assessment.

Besides, the setting up of the urban renewal authority and land tribunal are also in the pipeline to be parked under ministry, he said.

"This will be a fair and balanced legislation. While we are pushing for development, we shall also protect houseowners.

"This is the Madani government, we will ensure a fair solution for both sides (owners and developers)," he added. - Bernama