SEREMBAN: THE government yesterday announced a major rent-to-own (RTO) scheme for prospective house buyers who fail to secure bank loans.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said under the Perbadanan 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme’s (PR1MA) scheme, house buyers could own properties by paying rent for between 20 and 30 years.
“Some prospective buyers have had their loan applications rejected by banks due to several reasons, including having no steady income or a poor financial track record.
“This scheme was formulated to help these people who couldn’t secure bank loans to buy a house of their own,” he said at the PR1MA Seremban Sentral groundbreaking ceremony here yesterday.
Najib said the scheme was a special initiative by a government committed to providing affordable housing for the rakyat.
“The government agreed to this initiative, which will see PR1MA working with several banks to offer the RTO scheme.”
Najib said on top of the RTO scheme, PR1MA would also build 2,000 more affordable homes on a 16ha plot near Seremban Sentral, where a Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) Bhd depot was situated.
“Another PR1MA project will also be undertaken on 400ha in Labu. The landowner, Sime Darby, has agreed to sell the plot to PR1MA at a discounted price.”
Najib said 10,000 units would be built in Labu to enable more middle-income Malaysians to own comfortable houses.
The PR1MA projects, he said, were proof that the Barisan Nasional government always puts the people’s needs first.
“A government study found that housing was on top of the people’s list of needs in their life. There are other things that they require in life, but owning a house was among their top priorities. Under PR1MA, we build houses for the people, not for the sake of it. We build homes that are comfortable and of good quality, yet, affordable.”
Present at the event attended by some 8,000 people were Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, PR1MA’s chairman Tan Sri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis and its chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias.