1) The Government is committed to increasing the construction of houses under 1Malaysia Civil Servants’ Housing or PPA1M. Currently, 10,639 PPA1M houses have been approved for construction. In 2015, to enable more civil servants to buy PPA1M houses, the Government agrees to build an additional 5,380 units including 1,600 units in Putrajaya, Bukit Jalil (1,530 units), Papar, Sabah (1,290 units) and Bukit Pinang, Kedah (960 units). In addition, the Government will improve PPA1M as follows:-
i. Reducing the minimum price of houses currently at RM150,000 to RM90,000 per unit with a minimum floor area of 850 square feet;
ii. Raising the qualifying requirement of household income from RM8,000 to RM10,000 per month; and
iii. Providing a facilitation fund of up to 25% from the project cost for developers participating in the scheme.
2) To address the issue of home ownership at affordable prices, various projects and programmes will continue to be implemented, among them:-
i. Build 80,000 units under the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA) with an allocation of RM1.3 billion. To enable more people to own houses, the ceiling of household income is raised from RM8,000 to RM10,000. In addition, a Rent-To-Own Scheme will be introduced specifically for individuals who are unable to obtain bank financing;
ii. National Housing Department (JPN) to build 26,000 units under the People’s Housing Programme (PPR) with an allocation of RM644 million; and
iii. Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) to build 12,000 units of Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) and 5,000 units of Rumah Idaman Rakyat. SPNB will also build 20,000 units of Rumah Aspirasi Rakyat on privately-owned land.
3) To enable more people to own their first home and reduce the cost of buying a house, the Government has agreed to extend the 50% stamp duty exemption on instruments of transfer and loan agreements and increase the purchase limit from RM400,000 to RM500,000. The exemption will be given until 31 December 2016.
4) The Government also agrees to improve Skim Rumah Pertamaku under the purview of Cagamas by raising the ceiling price to RM500,000 in line with the stamp duty exemption. In addition, the age of borrowers to qualify for the scheme will be increased from 35 to 40 years.
By: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/
Published on: Friday, October 10, 2014
THE CHAMBERS OF LEE & CHONG 