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GEORGE TOWN (April 2): The Penang state executive council has agreed to a revised mechanism for determining the annual quit rent rates aimed at reducing the financial burden on landowners.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pictured) said all land classified under industrial and commercial use on first grade land, particularly those without planning approval, will be reclassified as building use.
Under the new structure, quit rent rates will follow the “building (others)” category, set at 70 sen per square metre for urban land and 50 sen per square metre for rural land.
However, affected landowners will not be eligible for the existing 50% rebate.
“This approach is the state government’s best initiative to ease the quit rent burden, particularly for affected landowners.
“We also advise landowners to take steps to develop their land through proper legal processes to support economic activity and development in Penang,” he told a press conference in Komtar on Wednesday.
Chow said that as of March 31, a total of 4,001 feedback submissions and appeals had been received, with 2,885 linked to increased quit rent rates involving first grade land, reclassification from rural to urban status, agricultural (durian) land, hillside plots and rate reviews.
Another 1,116 appeals were due to technical issues, including properties spanning multiple lots, financial constraints, abandoned projects, non-profit organisations and undeveloped land.
“Of the total cases, 3,043 are currently being processed by district and land offices as well as the State Land and Mines Office.
“As of last month, 163,262 quit rent account holders have made payments, representing more than 54% of active taxpayers in 2025,” he said.
On the meeting chaired by DAP secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook on Monday, Chow said discussions proceeded smoothly, with stakeholders responding positively to the state’s detailed briefing on the 2026 quit rent revision.
The chief minister said that the state government has been urged to enhance outreach on relief measures, including rebates for schools, religious bodies and non-profit organisations.
These include a 50% rebate, a nominal RM50 per lot rate for all public and private schools, consideration of appeals for multi-lot properties to be taxed based on actual size rather than minimum rates, and exemption of business and industrial land from minimum tax thresholds.
“Landowners currently paying nominal rates between RM1 and RM10 will continue to enjoy a RM50 nominal rate after the 2026 revision, while those facing financial difficulties may opt to pay in instalments,” he said.
The state implemented the quit rent revision and reclassification of rural land to urban status statewide from Jan 1 under Section 101 of the National Land Code, affecting nearly 370,000 land titles across residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and other categories.
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