Deputy housing minister says 1,333 abandoned projects with GDV totalling RM126b revived as of Oct 31

• Deputy Minister Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu: To ensure developers take this issue seriously, the ministry has taken stern action, including prosecution, compounds and blacklisting developers who fail to comply with regulations under Act 118.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): A total of 1,333 delayed, sick and abandoned private housing projects, involving 159,638 residential units with a gross development value of RM126.47 billion, have been revived by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government as of Oct 31.

Deputy Minister Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu (pictured, right)said the move was taken to safeguard buyers from losses due to project delays and to restore confidence in the private housing sector.

“To ensure developers take this issue seriously, the ministry has taken stern action, including prosecution, compounds and blacklisting developers who fail to comply with regulations under Act 118,” she said during an oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.

She was replying to a question from Aminolhuda Hassan (Pakatan Harapan-Sri Gading), who asked about the government’s actions to address the issue of abandoned projects that have affected first-time house buyers, as well as the fact that people are still having difficulty obtaining affordable housing.

Aiman ​​Athirah said that blacklisted developers are not allowed to apply for development licences or advertising and sales permits for new projects, while a list of problematic projects is also displayed on the ministry's portal as a reference for buyers.

She added that Act 118 is being improved to ensure more disciplined financial management and reduce the risk of abandoned projects in the future.

Regarding affordable housing, Aiman Athirah said the difficulty faced by the public in getting housing loans is due to poor credit records, high household debt and unstable income or no official pay slips.

To increase access to affordable housing for the bottom 40% and middle 40% income groups, the government, through the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme, provides financing guarantees of up to RM500,000 for the purchase of a first home.

“The government has also implemented the rent-to-own scheme in seven states, enabling 6,958 families to own homes. In addition, the Home Ownership Campaign 2.0 and tax relief of up to RM7,000 have also helped ease the burden of first-time house buyers,” she said.

She added that these initiatives are part of the government’s comprehensive strategy to ensure affordable housing is more accessible, reasonably priced and safe to own.

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