Penang New Housing Rules

The Penang state government has announced new housing rules, hoping to curb property speculation. Starting from 1st February 2014, foreigners will be subjected to a 3% tax on the property price. On top of that,  foreigners can only purchase properties worth more than RM 1 million, while they will only be allowed to buy landed property on the island if the value exceeds RM 2 million.

The state will also impose a 2% levy on property sold within three years of purchase, excluding affordable housing. A moratorium of ten years will be applied to low-cost homes costing up to RM 42000 and low-medium cost homes worth up to RM 72500 and covers all past and future purchases. On the other hand, a moratorium of five years will also be imposed on the sale of affordable housing, which covers houses worth no more than RM 400000 on the island and a maximum of RM 250000 on the mainland.

For low-cost homes, low-medium cost homes and affordable homes, homeowners who wish to sell their property before the end of the moratorium will need to get state approval and can only sell to listed buyers who have registered with the state’s housing department and meet income requirements.

There are 10 locations for the new low-cost and affordable housing projects, namely Jalan S.P. Chelliah, Teluk Kumbar, Jelutong and Pintasan Cecil on the island and Batu Kawan, Kampung Jawa, Mak Mandin, Ampang Jajar, Bukit Mertajam and Juru on the mainland. In conjunction with this, the state's housing department has updated the housing registration system - erumah. Those who are interested can download the application form via erumah.

All application forms can be submitted at Level 3 in Komtar or at the state assemblymen service centres. The deadline to submit the application forms for houses in Jalan S.P. Chelliah is 31st March 2014. For those applying for houses at other locations, the deadline is 30th June 2014.

Affordable Housing - eRumah

Other than pr1ma, there is actually another portal called eRumah, managed by Penang state government. eRumah is a portal for application of Projek Perumahan Rakyat (on rental basis), Low Cost Houses and Medium Low Cost Houses.

Below are the basic requirements to be eligible to apply:

• Malaysian
• 18 years old and above
• Never own a house (including house that had been sold)
• To apply for Projek Perumahan Rakyat, monthly total household income cannot be more than RM 1500
• To apply for Low Cost Houses, monthly total household income cannot be more than RM 2500
• To apply for Medium Low Cost Houses, monthly total household income cannot be more than RM 3500

Every application for Low/Medium Low Cost Houses will be proceed by the system according to place of birth, marital status, dependent, time of registration, years staying in Penang and so on. Priority will be given to those with family and dependent of at least 5.

If you fulfill the basic requirements, then you can proceed to register/check your eligibility by entering your IC number at the top right corner.

If you are not eligible, you will see below message.

Else, you can proceed for the registration. Just fill in all the required information correctly and choose the type and location (district) of houses that you wish to apply for. Once you complete the registration, you can always come back to the same portal to check for the application status.