“If 100 sq ft is built first as an increment, but in the future, the goal is to have 80-sq m (861 sq ft) houses, 80 sq m of land must be allocated today. What is the loss of opportunity for that land value in 50 years?”
KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Incremental housing may sound affordable, but it doesn’t work in high-rises, says National Housing Department director-general Datuk Jayaselan K Navaratnam (pictured), urging policymakers to rethink land use and long-term value in urban planning.
“We maximise it to 30 storeys, 50 storeys, so how can incremental housing work?” he said during the 14th annual Affordable Housing Projects Conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur today.
At the heart of the issue, he said, is land and the long-term value it holds.
“If 100 sq ft is built first as an increment, but in the future, the goal is to have 80-sq m (861 sq ft) houses, 80 sq m of land must be allocated today. What is the loss of opportunity for that land value in 50 years?” he added.
Jayaselan stressed that while incremental housing may seem affordable upfront, few consider the opportunity cost of land when it’s locked up for decades.
“We calculate efficiency, but projection of value must be at net present value. Return on investment matters, and nobody’s calculating that,” he explained.
He also pointed out that incremental housing is only viable in landed settings, where owners can build over time. Vertical expansion, he said, simply isn’t realistic in dense urban towers.
Using the SPNB (Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd) model, he added that flexibility only comes when individuals already own the land.
“We provide a basic house, then expansion can occur. But the land is provided by the individual, not the government,” he said.
Renovations under this model can cost up to RM40,000—but only because the space physically allows for growth. High-rise units don’t offer that option.
He also explained the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) resettlement scheme as Malaysia’s most successful incremental housing effort, though one that belongs to a bygone era.
“It started in 1956. Today, it’s no more. It worked because the model gave land, plus opportunity,” he said.
While incremental housing may still work in rural or semi-urban landed contexts, Jayaselan urged a shift toward more holistic urban strategies, ones that consider land value, long-term costs, and actual living conditions.
“Everyone talks about building cheap, but nobody talks about whether it will work in 30 years,” he expressed.
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Source: EdgeProp.my
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