KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia applauds the government for the recent gazettement of the Malaysian Home Ownership Initiative (i-Miliki) to spur the housing industry and ease homeownership for first-time homebuyers.

Under i-Miliki — an initiative under the government’s Home Ownership Programme 2022/2023 or HOPE — purchasers of homes priced RM500,000 and below will be fully exempted from paying the stamp duties on the memorandum of transfer (MOT) and loan agreement, while purchasers of residential units priced above RM500,000 up to RM1 million will receive 75% remittance on the two stamp duties. The initiative began on June 1, 2022, and will end on Dec 31, 2023.

In a press release issued by Rehda on Monday (June 12), its president Datuk N K Tong said that during a time when there are rakyat in the bottom 40% and middle 40% income groups impacted by the recovering economy, i-Miliki is a much-welcomed initiative to assist Malaysians own homes.

“This unity government continues to demonstrate a fiscally responsible approach to helping Malaysians. Consistent with the previously announced Budget 2023, this is another form of targeted subsidy to help the deserving rakyat. Combined with the MOT exemption for transfer of houses by way of love and affection between parents and a child as well as grandparents and a grandchild, which was gazetted on the same day, we believe it will assist the government to meet its homeownership agenda,” he noted.  

While Tong believes that stamp duty waivers for first-time homebuyers will continue to encourage a higher percentage of homeownership in Malaysia, which is 76.9% currently and being one of the highest in the world, he opined that such measures should be open to all Malaysians, and not limited to first-time homeowners.

“There are many homeowners who are looking to upgrade, and those who have lost their ‘first-time homeowner’ card after receiving property as inheritance — they are not able to enjoy the i-Miliki exemptions. The incentives would go a long way in assisting this group of buyers,” he said.

He also hopes that the government would consider extending i-Miliki’s deadline, as many Malaysians may not be aware of the initiative, which is ending only a little more than six months away.

“Nonetheless, Rehda is committed to supporting the government in all its measures that benefit Malaysians, and we will continue to encourage our members to uphold our nation-building role of providing quality, affordable homes for the rakyat in a timely manner,” Tong remarked.

Read also:
Govt extends stamp duty exemption for first-time homebuyers — MOF