Special housing scheme to help senior citizens own houses

KUALA LUMPUR: A special housing scheme will be introduced to enable senior citizens and those without permanent or fixed income to buy houses.

Federal Territories and Urban WellBeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said his ministry were in discussions with the Housing and Local Government Ministry to introduce the scheme to facilitate such purchases.

"Banks will not approve loans to this group of people because they may not have a fixed income every month and may not have bank statements to convince banks that they have at least RM1,000 income a month for a year.

"These people are made up of those who do small business like hawkers and food stalls. If the scheme gets the approval of the government, these people will be able to own their own houses," he told reporters after opening the Federal Territory People's Progressive Party (PPP) Convention at Putra World Trade Centre here on Sunday, May 29.

The proposed scheme is still being studied and once ready would be submitted to the cabinet for approval, he said.

He added that the scheme can use a similar concept used by the Singapore Housing and Development Board which helps its people own low cost houses instead of renting them. — Bernama