Property News · April 15, 2016

New rules eyed for serviced apartment developers in Selangor, Malaysia


A freeze order was issued last month while new guidelines are proposed
Image credit: Servicedapartmentnews.com
Selangor’s Housing and Property Board (LPHS) said companies that build serviced apartments, small office home offices (SOHOs) and small office versatile offices (SOVOs) in the Malaysian state may be required to set aside a certain portion of their units as affordable homes.
According to executive director Norzaton Aini Mohd Kassim, the LPHS board has temporarily stopped the approval of new serviced apartments in the first semester of 2016 as it was currently studying new guidelines for such properties, which also include SOHOs and SOVOs.
Members of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA) in the state were informed about the freeze order last month.
She explained that the move was not intended to restrain property projects in Selangor, but to review some regulations amidst the sluggish property market at present.
In addition, the anticipated effect on the industry would be small as LPHS only received four applications for serviced apartments, SOHOs and SOVOs in Q1 2016.
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“We have developers that have done this in residential areas, where a unit can cost up to MYR1 million (USD256,500) but at the same time with affordable units costing only MYR250,000 (USD64,130) each. Of course, the unit size, finishing will be different. This was done in Rumah Selangorku … this shows it’s not impossible for it to be done in residential areas.”
The board may also oblige these developers to construct minimal amenities for their projects, such as playgrounds and kindergartens, which are not commonly built in such developments.
She added that the new rules were expected to be released by June.
Moreover, Norzaton revealed that Selangor has greenlighted 73,000 low-cost homes, of which 16,000 units are currently under construction. The rest still has some problems before work can proceed, like land issues.
These houses cost up to MYR250,000 (USD64,130), which is lower the MYR400,000 (USD102,610) maximum price under the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA).
Meanwhile, she disclosed that LPHS has been urging Bank Negara Malaysia to ease its lending guidelines for first-time home buyers due to this group’s difficulty in getting approval for their mortgages.
“We do send requests to Bank Negara to review the regulations, especially for first-time home buyers,” added Norzaton.
This story first appeared on PropertyGuru.com.my on 14 April 2016.

Source : property-report.com
Read more…New rules eyed for serviced apartment developers in Selangor, Malaysia

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