30-year rent-to-own plan for those who cannot get bank loans

Warm greeting: Najib sharing a light moment with Umno committee members at the Negri Sembilan Umno building. Looking on is Mohamad Hasan (second from left). - Bernama

SEREMBAN: Those who cannot secure bank loans for the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Scheme (PR1MA) can own the units they are staying in by paying rental for up to 30 years, under a government plan.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Rent-to-Own (RTO) scheme was designed to allow potential buyers, who could not afford these units or had been turned away by the banks due to various factors, to own PR1MA units.

“Under the RTO scheme, the ­buyers will have to pay rent for, say, 20 or 30 years and will eventually own these units. On our part, we will work something out with the banks and get them to help out in its implementation,” he said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Seremban Sentral PR1MA project here yesterday.

Both the Government and PR1MA, said Najib, had to intervene as there were cases of ­genuine buyers who could not come up with proper documents to support their applications.

“We have to intervene because we know owning a house is a priority for most Malaysians,” he added.

As of last year, PR1MA, which has over 700,000 interested buyers on its national registration system, has already approved the construction of 80,494 affordable units.

Najib, who was supposed to only launch the construction of 3,196 high-rise apartments for the project, also approved an additional 2,000 units following a suggestion from Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

“I support the Mentri Besar’s idea for an additional 2,000 units as there is extra space. This is for the benefit of the rakyat,” he said to applause from the crowd.

Although the price range for these units had yet to be determined, Najib said these would be at least 20% cheaper than the prevailing market rate.

The first phase of the project, comprising the construction of 1,504 apartments, will be com­pleted in two years while another 1,692 are scheduled to be finished within 30 months.

The 30ha project is being jointly carried out under a public-private partnership among PR1MA, the Public-Private Partnership Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department, Railway Assets Corporation, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, the state government and developer Brunsfield International Group.

The site is located behind the existing Seremban KTM station in the heart of town. - The Star