During the last state assembly sitting in July, the Selangor PR state government gave two pieces of good news for low-cost flats inhabitants to cheer about.
Assessment rates for up to 200,000 low-cost flats across Selangor will be slashed by 25 per cent in September to help low-income families cope with the rising cost of living. To get the discount, the tenants have to fulfil three requirements.
“Firstly, owners must reside at the units and this must be verified by the flat’s joint management body (JMB) and owners must not have assessment arrears,” state executive councillor (Exco) for housing Iskandar Samad (pic) said.
“Local authorities are finalising the list of those eligible under their jurisdiction before the measure can be implemented.” Assessment rates for low-cost homes vary in each local authority, with the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) charging the highest rate of RM210 per unit while Kuala Selangor District Council charges the lowest rate of RM82.46 per unit.
With the 25 per cent discount, the rates will be brought down to between RM61.85 and RM157.50. “There are 201,798 units of low-cost apartments across 11 municipalities in Selangor.”
“The Kajang municipality has the highest number of low-cost flats (38,296), followed by Petaling Jaya (36,620), Subang Jaya (32,232) and Ampang Jaya (31,470), while rural areas like Sepang, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor and Kuala Langat only have around 2,000 to 5,000 low-cost apartment units.”
Collectively, the 11 local governments receive an estimated revenue of RM23.9 million in assessment tax from low-cost apartments, which may be reduced to RM17.9 million once the discount is implemented.
MPAJ collects the highest amount of assessment tax (RM6.8 million), followed bySubang Jaya Municipal Council (RM4.4 million) and Selayang Municipal Council (RM3 million). The Kajang Municipal Council only receives RM241,214 from low-cost flats’ owners despite having the most number of units in its vicinity.
“The councils should be able to manage as they have accrued savings with the termination of private waste management concessionaire Alam Flora Sdn Bhd’s contract last year,” he added.
The local authorities jointly saved at least RM40 million in management fees annually after taking back the rubbish collection and public cleaning services from Alam Flora. Iskandar said during the interview that the state will find ways to assist local councils with a weaker financial standing to cope.
The Sabak Bernam District Council is the only local government that will not be affected by this move as it does not have any low-cost flats within the district. – The Rocket
