The government would consider “topping-up” any shortfall in targeted rent collection by private developers involved in building rental homes for youth with fixed jobs, said Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar.

This is part of the government’s efforts to encourage private developers' participation in the project announced under Budget 2017 tabled last Friday, Noh told a press conference after launching the Ceylonz Suites sales units in Kuala Lumpur today.

“Let's say if the return should be RM3 million a year, and they (private developers) only get RM2.5 million, the shortfall maybe the government will top up,” said Noh.

Noh said his ministry has allocated a 13-acre piece of land at Mukim Batu, near Gombak, for the first phase of the project comprising 4,000 units of one-room and two-room houses.

He said the private developers would be fully responsible to build, manage and collect rents for the houses, under the build-lease-transfer system where the houses will be handed over to the government after between 20 and 25 years, once return targets are met.

"They will manage it, they will also be the ones to collect the rent.

“You can't have the government collecting rents or that will be a problem,” Noh said when asked how the government planned to ensure that tenants meet their rental obligation.

“But the tenants and rent rate will be determined by the federal government,” he added.

The new projects, Noh said, would also be in addition to the existing People’s Housing Programme scheme with a targeted 9,850 new units to be built next year.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in tabling Budget 2017 had said that the government will build 10,000 homes in strategic urban areas for rental to youth with permanent jobs, including young graduates entering job market.