KUALA LUMPUR: The government will unveil a housing reform plan on Nov 20 aimed at strengthening the industry and eradicating abandoned housing projects by 2030.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said the plan will be rolled out while encouraging developers to adopt the build-then-sell (BTS) concept voluntarily to ensure market stability.
“Several initiatives have already been implemented, including the establishment of a task force for abandoned private housing projects, which has been meeting almost weekly for the past three years.
“The ministry has successfully revived 1,200 projects involving 163,000 homebuyers,” he said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 30).
Nga said the government will continue monitoring through the Housing Development Account (HDA) system, which requires licensed developers to deposit 3% of their gross development value into a dedicated account to ensure sufficient liquidity for project completion.
“At the upcoming housing reform launch on Nov 20, we will announce new industry measures so that by 2030, there will be no more abandoned private housing projects in Malaysia,” he said.
He added that the ministry is in the process of amending the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (Act 118) to strengthen financial governance, improve buyer protection, and enhance the overall resilience of the property sector.
“The ministry remains committed to ensuring every Malaysian family has access to safe and comfortable housing, whether through ownership or rental. Our homeownership rate currently stands at 76.5%, and we are working to improve this further,” he said.
On the BTS concept, which allows buyers to pay only 10% upfront and the balance upon completion, Nga said it is still on a voluntary basis among developers with strong financial capability.
“The government will not make the build-and-sell concept compulsory because it will have serious implications for small and medium-sized developers.
“If we force developers to adopt it, many SMEs will not be able to compete. Cities in the second and third tiers, such as Kuantan, may see no new housing projects because developers will only focus on areas with high demand like Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.
“If the foundation of our housing sector collapses, the consequences would be severe as the property industry involves over 200 related sectors,” he said.
Nga said the government’s pragmatic approach has contributed to steady growth in the property market over the past two years.
“Last year alone, total property transactions reached 420,000 units worth RM232bil, the highest performance in over a decade,” he said.
He was responding to Wan Razali Wan Nor (PN–Kuantan), who asked if the government would make the BTS model mandatory to protect homebuyers and prevent abandoned projects.
Nga said the build-then-sell (10:90) model, introduced under the National Housing Policy 2018–2025, remains one of several approaches being promoted to ensure affordable and safe housing for all Malaysians.
“To encourage more developers to adopt the concept, the government has provided several incentives at both the federal and state levels, including priority in planning approvals and exemption from the 3% housing development account deposit,” he said.
