KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — The government will expand the Rent-to-Own scheme to enable more people from the B40 and M40 groups to own homes.

Local Government Development (KPKT) Minister Nga Kor Ming said cooperation with financial institutions will be continued to provide attractive and sustainable housing financing packages.

“The ministry (KPKT) through PR1MA Corporation Malaysia (PR1MA) and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) had been developing housing projects such as the SPNB Housing and PR1MA Housing programmes for the M40 group nationwide,” he said when winding-up the debate on the Supply Bill 2024 for the ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said to date, a total of 28,583 SPNB housing units have been completed, 1,024 units are under construction and 531 units are in the planning process.

He added that PR1MA has also built 35,454 affordable housing units, while 14,427 units are in progress and 3,765 units are being planned nationwide as of October 15.

Nga added that the government has also agreed to set the standard size for the People’s Housing Project (PPR) unit at 750 square feet, with a minimum of three bedrooms and two bathrooms for each unit.

He said this new direction in the PPR implementation is in line with the government’s aim to enhance the living conditions of residents in these housing units.

“With this, KPKT will ensure that newly constructed PPRs will be well-integrated with other facilities, including recreational parks, food courts, and convenience stores,” he said.

In addition, to promote home ownership, the ministry has introduced the i-Biaya initiative which is a financing assurance through the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP), specifically for first-time homebuyers, including those without a fixed income or payslips, such as workers in the gig economy.

“Through this initiative, the government provides financing assurance of up to RM500,000. This includes the principal financing amount, the Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA) guarantee, the Mortgage Reducing Term Takaful (MRTT), legal fees, and valuation fees,” he said.

Nga said throughout the SJKP implementation from 2008 until September 30, a total of 30,841 loan applications, amounting to RM5.85 billion, had been approved and the government, through the 2024 Budget, has proposed an additional RM10 billion in guarantees to benefit 40,000 borrowers.

Meanwhile, he said the local authorities had carried out 1,558 integrated operations for the year 2022 until August 31, 2023.

“Until September 2023, a total of 26,108 business licences have been revoked for violations of licensing and premises conditions,” he said. — Bernama