Proceedings of the 18th International Academic Conference, London

IS PUBLIC LOW-COST HOUSING IN MALAYSIA REALLY AFFORDABLE? MEASURING OPERATIONAL AFFORDABILITY OF PUBLIC LOW-COST HOUSING IN KUALA LUMPUR.

SUZAINI ZAID

Abstract:

Affordability in housing is often defined by the ratio of purchase price or rent, to total household income. At present, public low-cost housing units in Malaysia are sold or rented at below market price value being subsidized by the government. This housing affordability definition overlooks other important issues such as long-term operational costs, where a typical low-income household spends a substantial share of monthly income on energy and utility services such as electricity and water. Consequently, the apportionment or percentage of average household income spent on operational household expenditure such as rent, electricity and other utilities are investigated in this paper, by using a survey questionnaire and interview techniques. This paper presents a brief overview to how low-cost housing can contribute to sustainable development in terms of long-term operational affordability for social and economical sustainability

Keywords: Public housing. Low-cost housing. Sustainable urban housing. Triple-bottom-line. Housing Policy

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2015.018.141

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