City called on to issue ruling on cheap apartments

City called on to issue ruling on cheap apartments

JAKARTA (JP): City councilors urged the administration
yesterday to issue a regulation on low-cost apartments in an
effort to protect the city's investment as well as apartment
owners.

Bandjar Marpaung, chairman of the council's Commission D for
development affairs, deemed it necessary for the administration
to issue a ruling which stipulates the mechanism to sell the
apartments.

"Up to now, a regulation has not been issued regarding the
sale of apartments. This will put the administration at a
disadvantage, because not only is its chief objective in building
low-cost apartments doomed to failure, but it is also losing its
investment," Bandjar said.

He said the low-cost apartment program was launched by the
city administration to eliminate slum areas in the city by
relocating the residents to better housing complexes.

The city administration helps residents of slum areas to
acquire the apartments by selling them cheaper than the costs of
their construction, he said.

"The administration covers half of the construction costs. But
this is of no use if the residents sell their apartments to
people who intend to make money from the property," Bandjar said.

Lukman F. Mokoginta, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic
Party faction, said the city administration should do something
about this.

"If such a practice continues unabated, it only means that all
the efforts of the administration in constructing low-cost
apartments -- to provide decent housing for the poor -- did not
serve their purpose. Instead, it is the rich who take advantage
of the apartments at the expense of the needy," Lukman said.

He said a decree is important to regulate the sale of the
apartments because it is impossible to prohibit the owners from
selling their property.

Lukman said the regulation would help protect the original
owners of the apartments.

"The administration should protect them, because it is
possible that the buyers are taking advantage of the owners'
financial problems. In the end, the owners will not make any
profits," he said.

Lukman said this might force the owners back to slum areas
because they cannot afford to buy land to build decent houses.

He also urged the city administration to tighten control of
its officials, especially those who work at the city housing
agency. "We have to be aware of any collusion committed by city
officials," he said.

The councilors raised the issue following media reports that
most of the low-cost apartments in Bendungan Hilir, Central
Jakarta that were inaugurated last May were sold to other parties
who rented them out.

Each 21-square-meter apartment was sold at a price set between
Rp 20 million (US$8,695) and Rp 40 million. The buyers were to
pay for their apartments in monthly installments to the bank.

The new owners have been renovating the apartments and leasing
them for Rp 4.8 million per year, or Rp 450,000 per month.

Since the inauguration of the apartments in May, Governor
Surjadi Soedirdja has been urging their owners not to sell them
to other people. (yns)