SHAH ALAM: Eligible first-time home buyers who cannot secure loans can now look forward to owning property under the People’s Housing Project (PPR) that uses the Government’s rent-to-own concept.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said he fully supported the initiative announced by Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Ghani.

“Those with low income and who are unable to afford downpayment will have the chance to own a home by first renting it from the Government, without being burdened with downpayments or high instalments.

“We hope that problems of scarcity in housing amongst the people can be lessened following this initiative,” he told a press conference after attending the Selangor Umno Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house here.

Noh said the ministry had drafted the Cabinet paper and would be presenting it in the next meeting for further deliberation and approval.

The mechanism and details of the rent-to-own concept, he said, would also be finalised following the presentation of the Cabinet paper.

PPR houses have been priced at RM35,000 per unit in Peninsular Malaysia and RM42,000 in Sabah and Sarawak.

Citing an example, Noh said some 700 applicants who qualified to buy a PPR house in Lembah Subang 2 failed to secure a bank loan.

“Many of these applicants were rejected for a housing loan due to various reasons, such as having no payslips because they ran small businesses or are bankrupt.

“So this has prompted the Government to come up with a better initiative to help the people,” he said, adding that he would be presenting the paper at the next Cabinet meeting as the new housing minister.

Noh noted that the rent-to-own concept was also expected to be implemented for PPR home projects in Lembah Subang 2 and Gua Musang in Kelantan following their approval.

Earlier, it was reported that Johari announced that the Finance Ministry was recommending the rent-to-own concept to help first-time home buyers with low income to own a property.

He said it could be an effective way to help those with low income and insufficient funds for a downpayment to buy a house.

Noh also said the ministry had allocated RM500,000 to replace two damaged lifts for one of the blocks in the Desa Mentari low-cost flats in Petaling Jaya.

“Lifts are like roads for the residents and I will be focusing on the betterment of low-cost living areas for the benefit of the people.

“Both lifts of that block have been damaged. The replacement has been ordered and will be installed soon,” he added.

-The Star-