KLANG: The Selangor government will allow rich people to buy low-cost houses and rent them out to the poor under a plan that will also help housing developers reduce losses. 

Currently, low-cost houses in the state are sold at between RM35,000 and RM42,000 to those who earn less than RM1,500 a month. 

Under the plan, the state government will lift the curb on the purchase of low-cost houses to allow the middle- and high-income earners to own them and rent them out to people from the lower income group who cannot afford them. 

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo, who announced this yesterday, said the existing ruling on low-cost homes would be amended.  

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo

The proposed amendments would allow low-cost houses to be sold to anyone who can afford to buy them, regardless of their income and marital status.  

At the moment, those who are not married are not allowed to buy low-cost houses, he added. 

The state government planned to provide more flexibility, such as allowing a buyer to own more than one low-cost house, he said. 

However, he stressed that those from the lower income group would still be given preference to own such houses. 

Dr Khir said wealthy people were encouraged to rent out the homes at a reasonable price. 

“They cannot buy these homes solely for investment or to collect high rental,” he said after launching the Setia Alam housing project by SP Setia Bhd in Jalan Meru here. 

“The state will monitor the situation so that the rich will not take advantage of the poor,” he said.  

He said the move was “a noble idea” because it would get the rich to play a positive role in society by helping the poor who were unable to buy houses. 

The middle- and high-income earners would be able to shoulder part of the state’s responsibility in providing a comfortable and conducive living environment for the poor, added Dr Khir. 

He said there was a high demand for rental of low-cost homes in the state. 

“We built 10,000 council homes in the state for rental and all have been taken up. This shows that a large number of people are willing to stay in rented property,” he said, adding that much of the state’s squatter woes were also expected to be resolved this way. 

Dr Khir said Selangor would provide 225,000 low-cost homes by next year but would only be able to sell about 50,000 units by itself. 

In Petaling Jaya, CLARENCE CHUA reports that the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) is not in favour of the idea. 

Rehda immediate past president Datuk Eddy Chen said if there was no demand for low-cost houses then the Government should do away with the 30% quota imposed on developers. 

“For example, we can sell one unit of low-cost flat for RM42,000 but it costs RM50,000 to build it.” 

He said property investors who wish to buy low-cost houses should pay the market price. 

Source : The Star  12/4/2004