Ministerial Decree on Subsidised Apartments Could Change the Fate of the Working Class

JAKARTA – The government’s ambition to provide 3 million homes is now shifting towards more vertical and urban directions. Through the draft Ministerial Decree on Housing and Settlements (Kepmen PKP) set to be issued by the end of March, the subsidised apartment scheme priced at Rp13 million to Rp14.5 million per square metre becomes the main bullet. This policy, in the form of Ministerial Decree Number …/KPTS/M/2026, regulates the selling price, floor area, interest rate, and financing term for ownership of housing units in the implementation of the Housing Finance Liquidity Facility (FLPP). For developers, this policy is an effort to humanise working-class residents who have long been pushed to the city outskirts. With land prices continuously soaring, building landed houses in the city centre is an economic impossibility. “This draft decree is already quite comprehensive and on target. In terms of size, units from 21 to 45 square metres can accommodate singles to young families with two children. A 45 square metre unit can already serve as two bedrooms,” said Samuel when met in Jakarta on Tuesday (17/3/2026). Samuel’s analysis highlights the often-overlooked variables of living costs, namely waste energy and pollution. So far, Low-Income Communities (MBR) have been forced to live far from their workplaces, spending up to four hours a day commuting, and incurring large transportation costs. Samuel compares the instalment costs of subsidised apartments with the cost of renting boarding rooms in the city centre. “With this scheme, they can own a minimum 21 square metre unit with instalments also around Rp2 million per month if taking a 30-year tenor. This is far more humane,” he explained. These subsidised apartments are projected to be located in strategic areas connected to public transport or based on Transit Oriented Development (TOD). This is believed to be able to reduce the burden of chronic congestion on Jakarta’s commuter routes. One crucial point in this decree is the setting of a flat interest rate of 6 per cent. Samuel compares this to non-subsidised apartment schemes which usually only offer low interest in the early years, then spike dramatically to 11 or 12 per cent during the floating period.