Johor to ensure developers keep to housing quota

JOHOR BARU - The state is taking a good long look at property developers here to ensure they abide by the housing quota for low-cost and affordable homes in their projects.

"We have set up a task force, of which I am the chairman, to look into housing issues," Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said.

Under the housing quota, developers are required to allocate 40 per cent of their residential properties for low-cost, medium-cost and affordable houses.

Mohamed Khaled said 28,000 units of affordable houses were to be built in Johor within the next five years.

Property developers that fail to build low-cost and affordable houses within three years of having their plans approved by the state will be issued a notice.

Mohamed Khaled said the state was also looking into action that could be taken against developers that fail to abide by the quota.

He said this after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of agreement between state investment arm Johor Corporation (JCorp) and the state government yesterday.

JCorp will build 8,000 units of low-cost and affordable houses priced between RM35,000 (S$ 13,600) and RM150,000 in and around Iskandar Malaysia by 2020.

He said that besides JCorp, UEM Sunrise Bhd would be building houses priced below RM150,000 each.