Penang will offer 1,133 affordable homes under its rent-to-own scheme across five projects with monthly payments starting from RM250, a tranche expected to help between 4,000 and 5,000 people, Penang Property Talk noted.
The units will be bought by the Penang Housing Board (LPNPP) for households that can manage a monthly housing payment but struggle to secure a bank loan, state housing and environment committee chairman Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo said in his winding-up speech at the state assembly, as Buletin Mutiara reported. The portal is published by the Penang state government.
Sundarajoo rejected the suggestion that the state neglects seats held by the opposition. “We do not sideline opposition-held constituencies. In fact, many of the RTO projects developed under the state Housing Board are located in opposition areas,” he said.
Three assemblymen had pressed him on the subject: Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff (PN-Sungai Dua), Bukhori Ghazali (PN-Pinang Tunggal) and Azmi Talang (PN-Teluk Ayer Tawar). He said more units would follow where demand exists, naming Teluk Air Tawar and Pinang Tunggal.
The five projects are Pangsapuri Pinang Setia in Bertam with 640 units, Mak Mandin Indah in Butterworth with 187, Vista Perdana in Butterworth with 144, Pekatra Indah in Simpang Ampat with 107 and Harmoni Vista in Teluk Kumbar with 55. The state spent RM49.26 million this year to acquire the block, Penang Property Talk reported in September.
Resale is restricted. Units priced below RM300,000 carry a 10-year moratorium and units at RM300,000 and above carry five years. An owner in urgent need may appeal to LPNPP, and if the board agrees it imposes a 10% premium on the selling price.
The arrangement, he said, protects both owners and the state and discourages sales made purely for profit.
He was also asked about homes bought for RM42,000 and later resold for as much as RM250,000. Sundarajoo said state scheme prices are fixed, at RM42,000 for Rumah Mampu Milik A, RM72,500 for B1 and RM100,000 for B2. “Once the owners have fully paid for their homes, the resale prices are determined by market demand and supply. We cannot control the market,” he said.
On wider housing matters, the state has made 6,753 offers of Rumah MutiaraKu units over three years and two months: 1,865 in Category A, 797 in B, 3,839 in C and 252 in D. Prices run from RM42,000 in Category A to RM400,000 in Category D, with Category C between RM150,000 and RM300,000.
It is also seeking federal money for 300 new People’s Housing Project (PPR) units, 180 in Jelutong and 120 in Central Seberang Perai. The Jelutong build should start in mid-2027 and finish by 2031. PPR rents start at RM90, with household income capped at RM1,700.
A developer will hand over 350 Rumah MutiaraKu B2 units under the Ujong Batu redevelopment to rehouse 268 eligible residents. Neither the state nor the housing board said when applications for the five rent-to-own projects would open.
