Malaysia does not have one affordable housing scheme. It has a federal one (PR1MA), a Federal Territories one (Residensi Wilayah, with a cheaper Residensi MADANI tier), state schemes such as Rumah Selangorku, Penang's Rumah MutiaraKu and Johor's RMMJ, a build-on-your-own-land scheme (Rumah Mesra Rakyat), and a loan guarantee for people without a fixed salary (SJKP). Each sets its own income cap, price ceiling and resale lock, and the third-party guides people find first are often several rule changes out of date.
This guide is built from the schemes' own portals and policy documents, read on 17 October 2026: PR1MA's eligibility, FAQ and financing pages; the Jabatan Wilayah Persekutuan portals for Residensi Wilayah and Residensi MADANI; LPHS circular Bil. 1/2023 (*Dasar Rumah Selangorku 3.0*); SPNB's Rumah Mesra Rakyat pages; SJKP's eligibility and scheme pages; LPNPP's Rumah MutiaraKu page; and the Budget 2027 speech tabled on 9 October. Where a figure exists only on a property portal, we say so.
*Cover image: Brownc / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), public housing flats in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.*
Federal: PR1MA
PR1MA (Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia) builds homes priced from RM100,000 to RM400,000 in towns across the country: apartments of roughly 600 to 1,200 sq ft and terraces of roughly 850 to 1,850 sq ft.
- Who: Malaysian citizens aged 21 and above, single or married, with an individual or husband-and-wife income of RM2,500 to RM15,000 gross a month.
- Ownership: it can be your first or second home only, so you may already own one property.
- Living in it: PR1MA homes must be owner-occupied, and sub-letting is not allowed.
- How: register free at the PR1MA portal (prs.pr1ma.my) for a reference number, then apply for a specific project. New launches are balloted; registration alone does not enter you. A successful applicant picks a unit and pays a RM500 booking fee, then gets a bank or LPPSA loan before signing the SPA. PR1MA says it does not use agents.
PR1MA's FAQ does not state a resale moratorium; it tells buyers to call 03-7628 9898. Older press reports give different periods, so check before you sign.
Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan: Residensi Wilayah and Residensi MADANI
Residensi Wilayah, the scheme formerly called RUMAWIP, is run by the Jabatan Wilayah Persekutuan with DBKL, Perbadanan Putrajaya and Perbadanan Labuan.
- Who: citizens aged 21 or over who were born in, live in or work in a Federal Territory. Gross household income (husband and wife only) of no more than RM10,000 a month if single or RM15,000 if married.
- Ownership: you may own a home in another state, but not any property in a Federal Territory and no other affordable home.
- The unit: up to RM300,000, at least 800 sq ft, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
- Lock-in: no sale or transfer for 10 years from the SPA without government permission, except to a spouse or children. Units are for sale only; there is no rent-to-own.
- How: register on the portal, choose one project, and upload three months' payslips and a statutory declaration (plus utility bills if you rent). Financing is your own responsibility, and developers may not take money before the SPA.
The portal warns that rumawip.com.my, rumawip.com, residensiwilayahpersekutuan.com and rumawip.org are fake.
Residensi MADANI is the lower tier: citizens aged 18+, household income up to RM8,000, no home anywhere, and prices up to RM200,000 for at least 750 sq ft, with the same 10-year lock. Applying for Residensi Wilayah rules you out of Residensi MADANI.
Selangor: Rumah Selangorku 3.0
LPHS (Lembaga Perumahan dan Hartanah Selangor) runs the scheme under version 3.0 of its policy, in force since 3 January 2023. Applicants and spouses must be citizens aged 18 or over, with household income up to RM14,500, and must not own a house in Selangor. Singles may only apply for SOLO units. The controlled prices are:
- SOLO: 450 sq ft, 1 bedroom, RM114,750 (transit-oriented and city-centre sites only)
- DUO: 600 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, RM153,000
- TRIO: 750 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, RM191,250
- QUAD: 900 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, RM229,500, or RM250,000 as a 20 x 60 ft terrace
Resale is allowed after 5 years from the SPA with state consent. Register in LPHS's eHartanah system; a registration lasts two years, after which you must re-apply. LPHS's own eHartanah FAQ still shows the older 2.0 price list, which applies only to projects approved before 2023.
Other states
Penang, Rumah MutiaraKu: applicants must be 21+, Penang-born or resident for more than five years, a registered voter in Penang and working there. Household income bands run from up to RM2,500 (category A) to up to RM15,000 (category D). Apply on LPNPP's PgHome portal. LPNPP does not publish its price caps; the figures on blogs are unofficial.
Johor, RMMJ: the state assembly was told on 6 May 2026 that applications go through the e-Rumah Johor portal, followed by an open ballot. Successful buyers get a Sijil Layak Memiliki Rumah and are helped with financing at the J-Home One Stop Centre. Both e-Rumah Johor and the state housing board's site were down when we checked, and the price bands quoted online come from property portals, not the state.
Sarawak, Rumah Spektra Permata: an HDC programme for households earning RM1,500 to RM6,000 who own no house or land, with priority for Land and Survey Department plot holders.
If you own land, or have no payslip
Rumah Mesra Rakyat (SPNB) builds a single-storey, 3-bedroom, 750 sq ft house on land you own (at least 3,000 sq ft, unencumbered). It costs RM75,000 in the Peninsula, RM85,000 on Peninsular islands and from RM80,000 in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, including a RM20,000 government subsidy, and is repaid to SPNB at RM300 a month over 16 to 25 years. Household income must be RM750 to RM5,000, and you must own no house or only a dilapidated one.
SJKP (Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan) is not a lender. It guarantees a first-home loan so that a bank can lend to gig workers, hawkers, farmers and other self-employed people without a salary slip. You apply at a participating bank, such as BSN, Bank Rakyat, Maybank, RHB or Bank Islam, with six months' bank statements and proof of income. Under SJKP MADANI, financing goes up to RM360,000 over as long as 35 years. Budget 2027 (paragraph 55) says SJKP will guarantee up to RM20 billion for 80,000 first-time buyers; that is the same envelope Budget 2026 announced, not new money.
The older Skim Rumah Pertamaku closed on 1 April 2023, though some portals still describe it.
What Budget 2027 changes
The speech of 9 October 2026 proposes a new first-home stamp duty exemption for SPAs signed from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030: a full exemption up to RM500,000 and, for homes up to RM750,000, a full exemption on the first RM500,000 and 50% off the rest. Until the Finance Bill passes, the current exemption (homes up to RM500,000, SPAs to 31 December 2027) is the law. The budget also sets aside nearly RM1 billion for Rumah Mesra Rakyat and Program Residensi Rakyat, with new projects in Kulai, Nilai, Paya Rumput and Lembah Pertang, and opened registration for phase 1 of Bandar MADANI Bukit Jalil on 12 October.
