Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia has submitted a proposal to the government for the moratorium period on the resale of 1Malaysia People's Housing (PR1MA) homes to commence from the date the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) for the homes are issued.

This is to discourage buyers from selling the homes for monetary gains, leading to speculative activities.

Currently, the moratorium period starts from the sale and purchase agreement signing.

PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias said the proposal has been submitted to the government.

"We are proposing [for the moratorium period to commence] from the date of the [issuance of the CCC] and it is now up to the government.

"In principle, the five-year moratorium period has been agreed, but where the detailed mechanism is concerned, we are looking at [commencing] from the date of the CCC," he told a news conference on PR1MA's Special End-Financing Scheme (SPEF) today.

The PR1MA programme was established by the government to help the middle-income group manage their cost of living in the urban areas, specifically to help them own a home amid escalating property prices.

On Jan 18, PR1MA had announced two policy changes to its programme, namely the decision to reduce the moratorium period for the resale of PR1MA homes from 10 years to five years, and the widening range of eligibility of the household monthly income level from RM10,000 to RM15,000.

In response to the move by PR1MA, National House Buyers Association (HBA) said the reduction of the moratorium period would lead to speculative activities. HBA then suggested that the government commence the moratorium period from the date of vacant possession, or in other words the date the completed unit is handed over to the purchaser.

On the SPEF programme, which was first announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the tabling of Budget 2017 in October last year, Abdul Mutalib said the scheme will increase the chances for first-time homebuyers to get access to financing.

"The middle-income segment will now have the opportunity to own a home, a reality that may not have been an option without this programme," he added.

The scheme, created exclusively for PR1MA homebuyers, is in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and four local banks, namely Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd.

SPEF is designed to make home ownership possible, especially for first-time homebuyers by increasing their chances of getting a home loan and by providing access to a higher loan amount than they would otherwise be eligible for with conventional loans.

The cornerstone of SPEF is the step-up only or the step-up with EPF Account 2 withdrawal options, where in the first five years, only interest is paid. The principal amount kicks in from year 6 onwards until the loan is settled.

The step-up option combined with withdrawals from EPF Account 2 means that homebuyers can have access to a larger loan amount.

 

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