1,450 families benefit from rent-to-own scheme: Halimah

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 1,450 families have benefited from Rent-To-Own (RTO) scheme under the People's Housing Project (PPR) in the country, the Dewan Negara was told today.
Deputy Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique (pix) said the scheme was an effort by the government to help the poor, especially those who failed to get assistance (unbankable) from financial institutions.
"We have many qualified applicants to apply for PPR unit under the ministry's criteria but do not qualify for a loan from the bank although house is only priced at RM35,000 as they are 'unbankable' as some of them don't have fixed income.
"Therefore, the ministry proposed that this group to be given assistance. The implementation of the RTO allows them to inhabit without having to pay deposit, only need to pay the monthly rental fees, and after certain period of time the house will be theirs," she said during the oral question session at the Dewan Negara today.
She was replying to a question from Senator Megat Zulkarnain Omardin who asked the ministry to state the extent of the effectiveness of the RTO programme in realising its effort to help individuals who failed to get financial assistance to own their own home.
Halimah said presently, RTO scheme was implemented in PPR Gua Musang with a total of 1,000 units; PPR Taman Dana in Ulu Bernam (300 units) and 150 units at PPR Ladang Siliau in Negri Sembilan.
PPR residents would be eligible for consideration for RTO scheme especially those, who, in the period of two years, had not violate any terms of the agreement and had a clean record in monthly rental payment, she said. — Bernama