Affordability is no longer just about buying a home. It is about whether the home a household can access, rent or own, is one it can realistically afford to live in. Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October 2026, is the second Budget under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), and the Ministry of Finance’s Pre-Budget Statement pointed the same way. It said attention would be given to improving the affordability of home ownership and rental, strengthening public transport and improving urban liveability, and it promised an assessment of household pressures covering food, housing, transport, healthcare, education and childcare.
The 13MP supplied the headline ambition. When it was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on 31 July 2025, the Prime Minister announced that one million affordable homes would be built between 2026 and 2035, delivered by the Federal Government, state governments and private developers. This article asks how Budget 2027 helps turn that number into homes people can live in, looking at rental, at the running cost of a location, and at how supply is being planned and delivered.
From Targets to Delivery
Budget 2027 allocates nearly RM1 billion, or RM963.3 million according to the Budget Touchpoints, for the Residensi Rakyat and Rumah Mesra Rakyat programmes. Four new housing projects will be carried out in Kulai, Johor; Nilai, Negeri Sembilan; Paya Rumput, Melaka; and Lembah Pertang, Terengganu, as set out in the Budget 2027 Speech.
The direction matches the housing reform priority in the 13MP, which focuses on increasing the supply of quality, liveable and inclusive homes, improving access to financing, and strengthening the efficiency of housing regulation and management, as described in the 13MP Executive Summary.
Rental Is Part of the Affordability Story
Ownership gets most of the attention in a Budget, but renting is a significant part of how Malaysians move through the housing market. PropertyGuru platform data shows rental searches outpacing sale searches, with rental properties also shortlisted more often than sale properties, which suggests renting is more than a stop on the way to ownership. PropertyGuru’s H1 2026 Consumer Sentiment Study adds some colour: among renters surveyed, 81% said rents were too high, 51% had moved further from the city because of housing costs, and 89% paid less than RM1,500 a month.
On the official side, Budget 2027 leans towards ownership. The main rental-linked measure in the Budget Touchpoints is a RM1 billion financing guarantee for Rent-to-Own, a bridge from renting to owning. Rental has a place on the wider agenda, though. The Pre-Budget Statement names rental affordability alongside home ownership, and the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) says it is finalising a Residential Tenancy Bill to set out the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
KPKT’s Deputy Minister has also told the Dewan Negara on 4 August 2026 that they are looking at more affordable rental housing, stronger tenant protection and wider access to ownership.
For renters, the practical test is the same as for buyers. A cheaper rent further out can cost more once the commute is counted.
Where the Homes Are Going, and What They Cost to Live In
Budget 2027 names several locations where new supply is planned:
- Bandar MADANI Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur: to be developed as a residential area for the rakyat, with amenities including a vertical school. Registration for Phase 1 opened on Monday, 12 October.
- Belfield, Kuala Lumpur: nearly 11 acres of Government land to be developed for at least 2,500 Rumah MADANI units, with 70% reserved for Bumiputera.
- Near KotaSAS station, Pahang: public housing, as part of the Government’s support for development along the ECRL alignment.
Location will decide how well these homes serve real demand, and it shapes what a household spends every month, not just what it pays up front. PropertyGuru’s H1 2026 Consumer Sentiment Study found that 86% of respondents considered sustainable features important when buying or renting, 78% weighed climate risks such as flooding and landslides when purchasing, and 30% prioritised infrastructure and amenities.
The Budget touches several of these recurring costs. On transport, the 13MP speaks of expanding transit-oriented development zones, and the Budget continues the My50 pass at RM50 a month for unlimited Rapid KL travel, introduces MyKomuter50 for KTM Komuter users, and funds 22 km of covered walkways in Kuala Lumpur that link residential areas to schools, clinics and public transport stations. On energy, the NUR MADANI programme offers rebates of up to RM200 for five-star refrigerators and air-conditioners, and RM100 for four-star appliances. On flood risk, RM2.6 billion is set aside for 153 flood mitigation projects, according to the Touchpoints.
None of these is a housing measure on its own. Together, they hint at what a more practical test of affordability looks like: rent or mortgage, plus transport, utilities and exposure to flooding, in the place where the home sits.
Public Land and GLCs as a Supply Lever
Budget 2027 also puts public land to work. The Government has gazetted 50 acres in Kuala Lumpur as Malay Reserve Land, and Petronas has started developing the first 10 acres, in Bandar Malaysia, to provide affordable housing. According to the Touchpoints, this includes rehabilitating the RMAF Sungai Besi quarters.
Separately, the Government will provide 50 acres of strategic land around Kuala Lumpur, valued at RM1 billion, as a new endowment to Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra. The intent is for Permodalan Nasional Berhad to develop it, taking into account both the need for affordable housing and Bumiputera interests.
Rescuing Abandoned Projects
The Budget supports the goal of zero abandoned housing projects by 2030 with a full stamp duty exemption on loan agreements and instruments of transfer executed by rescuing contractors or developers and by the original buyers. It applies to revived projects certified by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT), from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030. The earlier exemption for revived projects ran from 2013 to 2025, so this reintroduces a lapsed incentive, according to the Budget 2027 Tax Measures.
The scale of the issue helps explain why. In a written reply published on the Parliament website on 29 July 2026, KPKT said that as at 30 June 2026 there were 303 private housing projects classified as sick in Peninsular Malaysia, involving 43,288 units with a gross development value of RM40.25 billion. A further 100 projects were confirmed abandoned, involving 27,998 units and 14,961 buyers. KPKT also said that, as at June 2026, 1,647 projects involving 192,912 units, valued at RM153 billion, had been revived.
For buyers, every rescued project is supply that returns to the market and confidence that is rebuilt along with it.
The Hard Part: Costs and Quality
Building affordable homes is one challenge. Keeping them affordable to build, and well maintained afterwards, is another. Budget 2027 offers a few signals.
On costs, the Government says it hears the concerns of contractors affected by rising operating costs. It will reintroduce the Variation of Price clause to absorb cost increases for diesel and bitumen, and projects with JKR pre-approved plans of up to RM5 million, such as quarters, schools, hostels, clinics and halls, can be tendered through quotation to speed up delivery. The Touchpoints also include RM14.7 million for CIDB to promote BIM, robotics and AR/VR in construction. The 13MP, for its part, prioritises technologies such as the Industrialised Building System and Building Information Modelling in residential construction, including affordable homes. How far these measures help private developers building for the open market is something to watch, as the measures do not yet show how private residential development costs will change.
On quality, RM70 million is provided under the Malaysia Housing Maintenance Fund Programme (TPPM) to repair roofs and maintain common property in low-cost and low-medium-cost private strata housing priced below RM200,000. A further RM50 million goes to Komuniti Angkat MADANI, which focuses on urban Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) communities. These are small sums against a large target, but they recognise that a home is only affordable if it stays liveable.
Planning Supply Around Real Demand
Housing needs differ by location, household type, income and stage of life, so planning works best when it reflects how people actually search, move and make trade-offs. KPKT’s National Housing Policy 2026-2035, launched on 10 August 2026, points the same way. The ministry has said it is moving towards planning based on data such as household income, house prices and actual demand by state and district, and it is mapping the prices of affordable homes by locality as a reference for government, developers and financial institutions.
Public datasets will remain the foundation. PropertyGuru’s view is that they can be strengthened by complementary demand signals from the private sector, such as how consumers search, shortlist and enquire, used responsibly and in aggregate. Signals like these can help spot mismatches between homes, infrastructure and services earlier, so that supply lines up with what communities need.
What to Watch Next
The Budget sets the direction. Delivery will decide the outcome. Five things are worth tracking through 2027:
- Orders and rollout: the gazetted stamp duty exemption for revived projects, and how quickly rescue projects reach completion.
- Take-up: registration and sales at Bandar MADANI Bukit Jalil and the four new projects.
- Location, price and running costs: whether new homes land near jobs, transport and amenities, at prices and monthly costs households can manage.
- Rental: the Residential Tenancy Bill, and how the Rent-to-Own guarantee is taken up.
- Progress against the target: how completions track towards one million affordable homes by 2035.
Budget 2027 nudges housing policy closer to how Malaysians actually live: renting and owning at different stages of life, and judging a home by what it costs to live in as well as to buy. At PropertyGuru, we will keep following how that plays out and sharing what it means for home seekers, developers and policymakers alike.
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