A civil rights group says an anti-speculation clause should be introduced to prevent profiteering.
GEORGE TOWN: A civil society group wants the state government to have an anti-speculation clause in the title deeds of affordable housing units.
The Penang Citizen Awareness Chant Group (Chant) spokesman Peter Wong Yan Lee said the condition, which should be for 10 years would stop speculators from buying such units only to resell them for higher prices.
He said the state government should insert a notation or entry in the strata or land title of these affordable homes.
He reminded that affordable housing scheme sole aim was to provide affordable comfort for the poor.
He insisted that the scheme was not for the rich to own 20 units and rent them out or resell them as an investment.
He said this would also control housing prices from spiraling out of control in the state.
He said if the qualified person was allowed to resell his or her unit in open market immediately after buying them, it would provide space for abuse.
“Housing is a fundamental right of the people.
“It should not be used by the business commodity to profiteer,” the Chant spokesman told FMT here today.
He also suggested for the state government to implement one family – one home policy to control the supply and demand for houses and property prices.
Under the policy, he said priority shall be always given to permanent state residents who were married couples and, single mothers or fathers to own a comfortable home each.
He suggested for annual taxation per extra house to be imposed on families that owned more than one home.
“This would control overdevelopment of housing, create more land space for other purposeful development and stop profiteering by speculators,” said Wong.
He called the state executive councillor in charge of town and country planning and housing, Jagdeep Singh Deo to set up a legal mechanism to implement and enforce the proposed policies.
Jagdeep has recently announced the formation of a selection process committee to enhance the effectiveness of the allocation process to those who are eligible for affordable houses.
He said the committee will also become a site of reference for the current mechanism of allocation of low-cost and low-medium cost houses from the start of the project to the house ending up in the hands of buyers.
He suggested for the committee to have representation from developers, residential management committees and bankers as well.
100% loan policy
Chant also proposed the committee to look into applying a 100% loan policy for affordable housing.
The loan policy is currently offered by developers to buyers to purchase high end projects in Penang,
Chant also wants Jagdeep’s committee to plug loopholes in laws to control the “small office home office” Soho type of development.
Soho allows developers to build, sell and profiteer residential units under commercial scheme, and they are not obliged to build affordable housing.
“This loophole must be plugged or else Penangites will lose out,” said Wong.
Add two MANDATORY clause;
ReplyDelete1)The original buyer/ owner MUST stay in the property for a certain 'minimum time-frame' before they are eligible to sell the property.
If they sell the property before the minimum time frame, the property will be confiscated.
2)The property MUST not be rented out during the entire 'minimum time-frame'.