Supply of affordable housing in Penang may be delayed following red tape issues

GEORGE TOWN: The supply of affordable housing in Penang may be affected following delays in developers obtaining the advertising permit and developers license (APDL).

Developers cannot sell their projects without the APDL according to Penang Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (REHDA) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan.

He said 30 applications were still pending at the Urban Well-Being, Housing and Local Government Ministry with some stretching back to August 2014.

Chan said many of these projects were for the development of affordable housing units which could easily number more than 5,000.

He said developers were at lost over the delays, noting the APDL could previously be obtained some two weeks after application.

Chan said these delays had far reaching consequences on the economy as contractors, suppliers and workers were affected too.

He asked what the private sector had done to affect the relationship with federal authorities and urged those responsible to honour their oaths of office taken before God.

"Isn't this depriving people of their first homes? Is this the righteous thing to do?" a visibly exasperated Chan asked in a press conference today with Penang Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh.

Jagdeep also dismissed the allegation the delay was a tit-for-tat over claims the state was delaying housing projects by federal agencies.

He said the approvals were not given as there were units which breached the affordability price ceiling and pointed out there were no reasons given for the delays in getting the APDL.

He added that he has written a letter to the ministry to seek clarification over the matter and had given them two weeks to respond.

"We will contemplate," he said when asked if legal action would be taken over the matter.