Rumah Selangorku

Ownership within reach

Affordable housing is probably the most concerning things to homebuyers these days and with such drawbacks, the Selangor Housing and Real Property Board (LPHS) has rolled out a scheme called ‘Rumah Selangorku’ that will make dreams come true for a lot of people.

The Exco of Housing for Selangor, Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar Bin Abdul Samad, told Property Insight, “This initiative has proven to be a dire need for the state as the demand for affordable housing (RM250,000 and below) is steadily increasing.”

According to the Executive Director of the Selangor Housing and Real Property Board, Puan Norzaton Aini Binti Mohd Kassim, the policy is definitely more than practical. “The Selangor State Government has introduced ‘Rumah Selangorku’ as part of the provision of low-cost, low-medium and medium-cost housing. Seeing that these have been imposed in each and every development since 2000, the state government has proactively reviewed the existing policy to make it relevant based on the country’s current economic situation,” she explained.

“The situation become even more apparent when the ‘Pekeliling Dasar Rumah Selangorku Bil 1 Tahun 2013’ came into effect in January 2014, and thereafter all the development of affordable homes have been included under the ‘Rumah Selangorku’ scheme.”

“The main objective of the policy is to achieve the aim of ‘A family, a perfect home’, plus we want to ensure that every individual or family is able to own a good, safe and conducive home. Besides that, ‘Rumah Selangorku’ offers more value in terms of its size, design and community,” Puan Norzaton added (see Figure 1). Use .jpg file in image folder

WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT

“The importance of the allocation for ‘Rumah Selangorku’ in every housing development is to meet the need and demand of the lower-and middle-income earners in owning a house,” said Puan Norzaton. She also stated that the demand for affordable housing has been caused by the following factors:

1. The pricing gap between low-cost houses and houses offered nowadays;
2. Lack of choice particularly in the medium-cost category;
3. Lower-medium and medium-income group’s (young couples) incapability of owning a property;
4. Existing confined designs and insufficient facilities, especially in low-cost housing developments

On the other hand, Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar elaborated that ‘Rumah Selangorku’ was an entirely different scheme in comparison to previous ones offered by the state government. “It is statuary housing that is compulsory to be built by developers, depending on the project’s district (mukim) and sub-district (daerah). If, for example, the developer has developed more than 10 acres of a project in a PBT (Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan) area, they would have to dedicate a certain percentage of the development to build ‘Rumah Selangorku’ units.” he explained.

“At the moment, we have launched about 11,000 units of ‘Rumah Selangorku’ and the take-up rate is approximately 50 percent due to the fact that affordable housing has become a problem faced by all Malaysians! Our target is to build 20,000 units of ‘Rumah Selangorku’.” said Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar.

Nonetheless these numbers did not come by easy as there was much to be dealt with by the Selangor government during their first years of establishing ‘Rumah Selangorku’ with the majority of developers. In recent times, however, the main problem has taken a shift to banks refusing to approve loans to eligible purchasers.

“Previously, we failed to convince developers because the density of the planned development was limited to 70 houses per acre, but these days the density has risen to 120 houses per acre. We also have packages like special premium and exclusive development charges with the highest discounts possible.”

For the initiative to expand further, Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar himself leads and supervises the progress of ‘Rumah Selangorku’ with two main committees. “The first committee vets through developers’ applications of developing ‘Rumah Selangorku’ projects, while the second one observes their implementation.”

“On top of that, we also control the pricing and built-up sizes for these units,” Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar added.

A HELPING HAND

Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar then mentioned the Dana-Sel initiative. “We are now using the scheme for projects in Sungai Sering, Ulu Kelang and Rimbajaya in Shah Alam for individuals who have failed to get a loan from banks. The way it goes is that we, the state, will buy the property and consumers will lease it from us. So any time after two years, these individuals can opt to buy the property from us at the same price.” said Iskandar.

In addition to that, Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar explained, “However, if the people do not want to buy it from us, they can continue their stay at the property and pay rent until the property’s total price has been reached and then be rightful owners of this home.”

Another alternative that’s been offered by the state government is by being a guarantor for the property purchaser. “Currently we have allocated RM20 million for this scheme and it has been implemented in places like Selayang Mutiara, where the state government is the guarantor for property purchasers who cannot afford a loan. Some may see the scheme as a risk, nonetheless we are not that worried because if the purchaser cannot pay for the property, we can always sell it back to the market,” Y.B. Dato’ Iskandar expressed.

PLACES TO CALL “HOME”

M Residence 2@Rawang

As one of the developers involved in ‘Rumah Selangorku’ developments, Mah Sing Group’s Chief Executive Officer Ng Chai Yong is confident that affordable housing is something that the Group is more than willing to contribute to, “As a responsible corporate citizen and a premier lifestyle property developer with a presence of more than 20 years’ in Malaysia, we are committed towards supporting the nation’s initiative in building more acquirable homes for the people. It goes without saying that housing remains as one of the key needs for any given person, and to make housing accessible to all is in line with the Group’s principles.” he said.

Holding a diversified range of products in property hotspots of Greater Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Penang and Sabah, the Group sees the ‘Rumah Selangorku’ initiative fitting well in its portfolio as it will play an integral part in aiding people to find and acquire an affordable home whilst enjoying the quality lifestyle that Mah Sing offers with each of its projects.

Located in the booming township of Rawang, the group’s inaugural project development under the ‘Rumah Selangorku’ housing scheme, M Residence 2@Rawang’, consists of two blocks featuring 488 units with built-ups from 850 sq. ft. onwards. It is currently priced at RM170,000 and offers three bedrooms with two parking bays.

“The location was chosen due to its strategic location and appealing amenities, including its great connectivity via road and rail access. M Residence 2@Rawang also stands to benefit from the extension from Jalan Tasik Puteri onto the LATAR Expressway by the end of 2015.” Ng said.

On top of that, the Group’s development will be enhanced with the KTM Rawang station, the terminal station of the KTM Komuter’s Rawang-Seremban route. Rawang is also served by existing public buses that ply the Kuala Lumpur-Rawang route from the likes of RapidKL, Metrobus and SJ Buses.

BSP Bayuan Mas

Apart from Mah Sing Group, LBS Bina Group Berhad is developing Bandar Saujana Putra (BSP) Bayuan Mas, an affordable housing project under the ‘Rumah Selangorku’ scheme.

Its Executive Director, Datuk Wira Joey Lim, said, “‘Rumah Selangorku’ is a brilliant idea as it really helps lower- and middle-income earners in owning a house at reasonable prices. Since affordable housing is in line the Group’s as well as the state government’s commitment to build more affordable homes in Selangor, we are honoured and proud to support the its efforts in realising every citizen’s goal of owning a home at a good price.”

Lim continued, “‘Rumah Selangorku’ simply translates to the notion of having a roof over each person’s head — that is one of the basic necessities in life. Over the years, LBS has established a solid foundation in crafting high-quality built environment, and it is the Company’s privilege to have the capacity to improve the community’s overall well-being.”

“We have come this far with a proven track record for building excellent homes. We are driven to create sustainable living, working and recreational environments to provide a better future for everyone, a future that is worth beholding. ‘Believe, Become, Behold’ is the motto that we always strive for, so this project truly demonstrates our commitment in realising the community’s dream of a better livelihood,” said Lim.

BSP Bayuan Mas is located in Bandar Saujana Putra, a self-contained township by LBS that will offer residents accessibility to education, commercial and leisure establishments as well as necessary infrastructure and amenities like hospitals, recreational parks, shopping centres and hypermarkets.

It also has great direct access to major cities in Klang Valley as well as Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). As it is also near Puchong, there are various parts of the Klang Valley that are easily accessed via a number of major highways like South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), the Maju Expressway (MEX) and the North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE).

Rumah Selangorku Idaman PKNS

According to PKNS Public Relations Manager Ishak Hashim, “PKNS highly supports the Selangor government in realising their vision to build 20,000 houses of ‘Rumah Selangorku’ within three years,” said PKNS Public Relations Manager Ishak Hashim.

“Upon studying and observing existing low-cost housing conditions in 2009, PKNS decided to embark on a project to provide affordable housing based on a concept that is beneficial for residents. Our emphasis has been on giving sustainable living conditions with holistic surroundings, so this housing initiative fits into our plans of helping middle-income Selangor citizens own a home at reasonable prices.” added Hashim.

“‘Rumah Selangorku’ means a lot to us, and this is the most important year because it is the first in a five-year phase of building 7,500 affordable houses. In 2015 alone, PKNS has launched a total of 5,883 units in various locations in Selangor.” he said.

Although PKNS is one of the biggest land bank owners in Selangor, the developer has very limited land left to develop in the Klang Valley, and according to Ishak, most of it is exhausted. “There’s about 10,000 acres of land available for development, but they are all located outside Klang Valley, hence PKNS has shifted its focus to creating townships like Antara Gapi, Kota Puteri, Bernam Jaya and Selangor Science Park 2 (SSP2).” explained Hashim.

HOW TO APPLY?

Apart from applying for the ‘Rumah Selangorku’ scheme online (lphs.selangor.gov.my), potential homeowners should note that the Selangor Housing and Real Property Board has not only improved the application of registration system (SPPRS) and application of registration system for shops/affordable housing industry (SPPKI), but also added the registration requirements below:

1. All applicants without a home who registered before 2008 need to re-register as a new application if they are still interested in applying for the ‘Rumah Selangorku’ scheme.
2. Applicants are allowed to choose only one type of property during the time of application — Type A, B , C or D.
3. The minimum salary of applications for ‘Rumah Selangorku’ Type B, C and D are set at RM3001.00 per month.
4. The validity period for each application registered in SPPRS and SPPK is two years. At the end of that period, pending application data will be removed from the system bids and the applicant must make a new offer if they are still interested in applying for ‘Rumah Selangorku’ or the affordable home/shop industry.
5. Applicants who have turned down the offer will be INACTIVE for a period of two years. New applications can only be made after a period of two years.
6. INELIGIBLE application data will be maintained in the system. If there is an application update for the INELIGIBLE, applicants must submit the relevant supporting documents and will be assessed by the Selection Committee.
7. Effective January 2015, all applications for ‘Rumah Selangorku’ Type B, C and D, as well as applications for the shop/affordable industry shall be done online. Any application via forms will not be accepted.
8. All application statuses can be checked via the LPHS website: http://lphs.selangor.gov.my.

Application requirements for ‘Rumah Selangorku’ Type A

Malaysian citizens aged 18 years and over.

Residing in Selangor.

Household income does not exceed RM3,000.00 per month.

One family one applicant only.

Applicant or wife/husband does not own a property, either from government or private projects.

Ownership transfer is only allowed after 5 years.

Application requirements for ‘Rumah Selangorku’ Type B

Malaysian citizens aged 18 years and over.

Household income is between RM3,001.00 to RM8,000.00 per month.

Applicant or wife/husband does not own any type of property in Selangor.

Single applicants who have dependents is eligible to apply.

Buying the property for stay, not to rent out.

Ownership transfer is only allowed after 5 years.

Application requirements for shop/low-cost industry in Selangor

Malaysian citizens aged 18 years and over.

Household income does not exceed RM10,000.00 per month.

One family one applicant only.

Has not yet own a property on commercial title.

Ownership transfer is only allowed after 5 years (from the date of CF approval) with the permission from the State Authorities.

Applicants must submit the following documents when submitting the application form

A copy of the identity card of the applicant and spouse;

Copies of identity cards or birth certificates of children/dependents;

Copy of the Marriage Certificate/Marriage Register/Letter Divorce/Death Certificate of spouse;

Single Confirmation letter from employer or Commissioner of Oath for self-employed applicants who are not married;

The latest pay slips or income verification from the Commissioner of Oaths if self-employed;

Statutory declaration from the Commissioner of Oaths, if the spouse is unemployed;

EPF statement (if any); and

A copy of water bill or electricity bill.