Pix by Mohd Azren Jamaludin
ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Johor government today launched the ‘Jauhar Prihatin’ programme, which aims to resolve problems faced by prospective house buyers who qualify for the Johor Affordable Homes (RMMJ) initiative, yet have problems securing loans.
Under the programme, prospective buyers will be able to own their own homes through a rent-to-own scheme.
The programme was launched by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin at the Progressive Johor Expo 2017 in Kota Iskandar here today.
Khaled said many RMMJ applicants were qualified to buy the houses under the scheme but had to opt out after failing to obtain housing loans.
“The Jauhar Prihatin programme provides an alternative for this category of people seeking to buy their first property in the state,” he said.
Khaled said the programme, which received an injection of RM20 million from the state government in its 2017 Budget, would enable the buyers to purchase RMMJ units via a five years home rental leasing agreement with state-owned Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ).
“After the five-year term ends, the house buyer can continue purchasing the house directly through the scheme’s affiliate bank, which is AmBank Islamic,” he said.
He said that at the end of the tenure, 50 per cent of the accumulated rental within the five years would be converted into the down payment, which would then help the house buyer secure a housing loan from the bank.
“House buyers do not need to come up with the deposit when the time comes for them to purchase the house via a housing loan as they have already accumulated the deposit,” he said.
He said the rent-to-own scheme starts from RM260 per month up to RM600 per month, depending on the type of housing units.
“There are 5,279 homes available under the Jauhar Prihatin scheme. For the first phase, we are offering 409 units through applications with KPRJ,” he said.
Khaled said that as of July this year, a total of 15,139 RMMJ units have been completed and delivered.
“It has surpassed this year’s target of 6,000 units,” he said.
Inquiries for registration and qualification for the Jauhar Prihatin scheme can be forwarded to the KPRJ office at Danga Bay or by contacting 07-2358377.