Gov't to review quota on property ownership by foreigners - Zuraida

The Housing and Local Government Ministry will review the quota of property ownership by foreigners to be used as guidelines for developers and state authorities, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Its minister, Zuraida Kamaruddin, said so far, property owned by foreigners in the country had yet to exceed one per cent.

“The ministry will discuss a more detailed mechanism to be used by the state authorities,” she said in response to a question by Che Alias Hamid (PAS-Kemaman) on a suitable approach to curbing the purchase of property by foreigners, apart from setting the threshold as was enforced since 2009.

Zuraida said a new threshold was set in March 2014 where the minimum value for property acquisition by foreigners was RM1 million.

In efforts to curb land or property purchase by foreigners, she said, the ministry, through Budget 2019, had also set a new limit , where the Real Property Gains Tax rates would be revised from five percent to 10 percent for disposals of properties or shares in property holding companies after the fifth year for companies and foreigners.

She said the stamp duty on the transfer of property valued at more than RM1,000,000 would also be increased from three percent to four percent.

-- Bernama