Housing agenda: KPKT affirms commitment

The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing Development (KPKT), Akmal Nasrullah bin Mohd Nasir, recently visited the Aspire Residence housing development project in Cyberjaya to observe its current status.

Other attendees included Deputy Minister of Women, Family, and Community Development Aiman Athirah binti Sabu, President of the Sepang District Council Dato’ Haji Abd. Hamid bin Hussain, Deputy Secretary-General (Management and Development) of KPKT Muhammad Razman bin Abu Samah, and Director-General of National Housing Corporation (SPNB) Zahanuddin bin Kamarudin.

Akmal stated that the Aspire Residence project is one of the distressed projects that has concerned the ministry, along with other private housing projects that are delayed and distressed.

The KPKT established the Private and Abandoned Housing Project Task Force on December 30, 2022, with two meetings held on January 5, 2023, and February 16, 2023. The task force aims to adopt a more focused and strategic approach to address distressed and abandoned project issues.

KPKT has also strengthened the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Private and Abandoned Housing Project Task Force by enhancing four elements: tracking, resolving, preventive, and forward modelling. The tracking element identifies private housing projects in Peninsular Malaysia and categorizes them as on the track, delayed, or distressed based on the current status of project progress on-site.

The resolution measure involves regularly monitoring private housing projects through site visits, including government agency housing projects such as PR1MA, SPNB, PPAM, and Residensi Wilayah. KPKT will implement interventions with state and technical agencies such as TNB and IWK to address emerging issues.

KPKT has taken preventive measures to stop on-track private housing projects from becoming delayed or distressed. Early intervention is based on regular Housing Integrated Management System (HIMS) reporting.

The involvement of key stakeholders in the housing sector in Malaysia, including the Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (REHDA), National House Buyer Association (HBA), Association of Banks Malaysia (ABM), Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), Abandoned Property Owners Malaysia (VICTIMS) or the Association of Abandoned Property Owners Malaysia (PPHTM), Insolvency Practitioners Association of Malaysia (IPAM), and the Malaysian Insolvency Department (MID) in the private real estate forum “Hartanah Swasta” is viewed as a practical forward modelling step.

KPKT will also increase public awareness through awareness campaigns and public engagement activities, including forums with potential homebuyers. As an effective prevention measure, the wise homebuying campaign will receive more airtime for interviews on television and radio, newspapers, and social media.

As of December 31, 2022, KPKT recorded 384 sick private housing projects accounting for 12.9% of 2,979 licensed private housing projects. Meanwhile, as of January 31, 2023, 437 sick private housing projects were recorded out of 3,138 licensed private housing projects, accounting for 13.9%.

Although there has been an increase in sick housing projects overall, 33 sick private housing projects (3,045 housing units) have been completed and received the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC). Three sick projects (674 units) have been closely monitored and categorized as ongoing projects. Since establishing the Sick and Abandoned Private Housing Projects Task Force, this revival of abandoned projects has been a significant achievement.

According to the current status, we expect the number of late private housing projects to increase by 188, bringing the total number of late projects to 354. Additionally, we anticipate an increase of 101 sick private housing projects, bringing the total number of sick projects to 538 by December 31, 2023.

The Deputy Minister stressed that the data on ongoing, late, and sick housing projects constantly change based on the current project status, the economic situation of post-pandemic COVID-19 recovery, the overall housing industry market, and government interventions.

KPKT always prioritizes empowering the housing agenda and the welfare of all Malaysians. Its seven main focuses include comprehensive and competitive housing planning.