Govt to introduce new public housing model, says Nga
Published on: Friday, March 08, 2024
By: Bernama
Nga Kor Ming said the minimum size for units under the new public housing programme would be 750 sq ft with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
HONG KONG: The housing and local government ministry is coming up with a new model of public housing named Program Residensi Rakyat (PRR), said its minister, Nga Kor Ming.
He said the PRR would be well-integrated, sustainable and liveable, with quality commercial viability, green spaces, a community centre and other features.
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The construction cost of each PRR unit would also be increased to RM300,000, offering the low-income group quality homes with a piecemeal price.
Under PRR, a unit costing RM300,000 would be selling 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 the first 10 years, the owners 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.
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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 sq ft with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
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Nga said his ministry would also emphasise connectivity through transit-oriented development (TOD), which is expected to reduce the number of vehicles and car park lots.
The PRR will also be integrated with green buildings, making it 30% less in energy cost compared with standard buildings.
“We are hoping to get an extra budget. Compared with Singapore’s HDB which has an annual budget of S$30 billion (RM105 billion), Malaysia’s current PPR (people’s housing programme) only gets RM550 million, which is too small,” her said.
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 said the common engineering standard benchmark for a building’s lifespan is 70 years on average.
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