Give incentives to homeowners too on lower rentals, says Najib

 

There should be laws to prevent homeowners from forcefully evicting tenants for failing to pay rentals during lockdowns, says Najib Razak.

PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya should extend the incentives for the lowering of rentals to homeowners as well, former prime minister Najib Razak said today.

He said this in light of the incentives announced by the government for commercial property owners if they lowered their rental.

“The same incentives should be given to homeowners to encourage them to lower rentals voluntarily,” he said in a post on his Facebook page.

Under the government’s latest Pemerkasa Plus stimulus package, special tax cuts are given to building owners and business spaces that offer at least 30% rental discounts to SMEs and non-SMEs for six more months until Dec 31, 2021.

Najib, who is Pekan MP, said in several countries including in the US, temporary laws were introduced to prevent homeowners from forcefully evicting tenants for failing to pay rentals during lockdowns.

“Malaysia needs to implement the same measures during these never-ending lockdowns.

“This can be done on humanitarian grounds to give some space to tenants,” he added.

He said even if the owner were to evict the tenant, it will be difficult to find another tenant during these times.

Malaysia recorded a 4.6% unemployment rate in April this year. With MCO 3.0 since May and total lockdown since June 1, economists have raised concerns over more job losses and pay cuts as companies look to cut their overheads to survive. - FMT