More People Plan To Rent In The Next Two Years, REHDA Urges Lawyers, Loan Officers To Report Dubious Projects And, More
20th February – 26th February
While the pandemic saw more homes priced at RM400,000 and below, some people opt to rent instead of buying due to the rising cost of living.
Meanwhile, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA) has urged lawyers and loan officers to be vigilant in reporting dubious housing projects to authorities, especially those constructed under the pretence of self-dwelling purposes.
1. More people plan to rent in the next two years
While the pandemic saw more homes priced at RM400,000 and below, some people opt to rent instead of buying due to the rising cost of living.
PropertyGuru’s Consumer Sentiment Study (CSS) for the first half of 2024 showed that 50% of respondents planning to buy a house after a year or those with no intention to purchase, intend to rent a home, reported the New Straits Times.
This is especially true among younger Malaysians.
Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager for Malaysia at PropertyGuru.com.my and iProperty.com.my, noted that among those planning to rent, 69% had set aside a monthly rental budget of RM1,500 or lower.
Based on the study, 29% of current renters are planning to extend their rental tenure for up to two years due to insufficient savings to buy a property and rising property prices.
Moreover, 48% of current and prospective renters find the two-plus-one deposit requirement burdensome, while 45% are struggling to negotiate a fair rental.
He underscored the need for policy interventions in order to address such challenges.
Fernandez shared that 53% of respondents advocates the inclusion of the Rent-To-Own scheme in 12th Malaysia Plan’s Mid-term Review, which would help renters get up the property ladder.
2. REHDA urges lawyers, loan officers to report dubious projects
The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA) has urged lawyers and loan officers to be vigilant in reporting dubious housing projects to authorities, especially those constructed under the pretence of self-dwelling purposes.
Often offered by individuals posing as developers, these projects are mostly found in the rural and suburban areas as well as in small pocket developments, making detection challenging, said REHDA president Datuk NK Tong.
He noted that these individuals usually operate without the Advertising Permit and Developer’s License (APDL), making them hard to track, reported Bernama.
Such projects would not have progressed without the complicity of errant loan officers and lawyers.
“Legal services and loan financing offers should have been halted for projects without approved APDLs and we believe that the responsibility should fall under these lawyers and loan officers to report such activities to the authorities,” said Tong.
With this, he called for the investigation on their involvement, suggesting that action be taken against those who abet such crimes.
3. Government urged to halt legal services, loan financing for projects without approved license
The government should stop legal services and loan financing for property projects with no approved advertising permit and developer’s license (APDL), said REHDA Malaysia.
Rehda Malaysia President, Datuk NK Tong noted that projects with no APDL would not have progressed to abandonment without the involvement of errant lawyers and loan officers. He added that these professionals are expected to report such activities to authorities.
Tong believes the issue is critical to both the public as well as the real estate industry, reported the New Straits Times.
With this, he shared that REHDA is ready to collaborate with the relevant state authorities, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) and the police to fight illegal projects.
“We are confident that if all parties work together towards this effort, these illegal activities will no longer be a part of the property industry landscape moving forward,” said Tong.
4. Johor to revive one abandoned, five sick projects in 2024
The state government of Johor eyes to revive one abandoned as well as five sick projects spread across four districts this year.
With an estimated property value of more than RM700 million, the five sick projects involve 1,538 homes and 390 units for the abandoned project in Taman Kulai Utama.
The sick projects are Taman Desa, Tangkak; Taman Sri Unas Permai, Muar; Taman Molek Perdana and Taman Residensi Larkin Indah, Johor Bahru; as well as Taman Impiana Kulai, Kulai, reported Bernama.
Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, Chairman of the State Housing and Local Government Committee, shared that the state completed five sick projects, valued at about RM300 million, in 2022 and 2023.
“From three years ago to the end of this year, the property value of such projects, both completed and ongoing, will reach RM1 billion, involving 3,500 units,” he said.
Notably, certificates of Vacant Possession were awarded to buyers of Residensi Larkin Indah, a project delayed by more than two years. Featuring 174 units, the residence is among the six PR1MA projects within the state.
5. Selangor to implement 564 development projects this year
Selangor is poised to implement 564 balanced and sustainable development projects, worth RM3.41 billion, this year as part of the Fourth Rolling Plan (RP4) under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
Of these, 463 are new projects while the remaining 101 are extension projects, reported Bernama.
With this, the Selangor RP4 focuses on the development of 471 physical projects, which account for 65.8% of the allocation or RM2.25 billion, covering areas such as construction, land acquisition, facility management,
Meanwhile, 93 non-physical projects will account for 34.2% of the allocation or RM1.17 billion.
Moreover, it was revealed that Selangor posted an expenditure performance of 8.39%, surpassing the national performance of 6.03%.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said projects set to be completed this year include the National Centre for Food Safety (NCFS), the upgrade of Kajang Hospital and the construction of a 24-classroom school, including other facilities at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Saujana Putra, Telok Datok in Kuala Langat.
