PETALING JAYA: Malaysians who buy affordable homes under the 1Malaysia People Housing programme (PR1MA) may be forced to vacate the homes if they do not abide by regulations.

Chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias said among the actions that would see ownership revoked was illegally renting out the house to third parties.

“These houses are meant to be owner-occupied unless they have a good reason of leaving the house.

“If we receive reports of abuse, PR1MA can buy the house back from the owner and ask them to leave,” he said during a briefing yesterday.

He added that the company had “compulsory acquisition” powers, as provided by the PR1MA Bill 2011.

However, he said the owner would be given several notices and warnings before any such action is taken.

PR1MA would exercise this power when house owners are found to have submitted false or misleading statements in their application, cease to be Malaysian citizens or for other reasons as provided in the Act.

The compensation to be paid by PR1MA for any property compulsorily acquired will also be determined by it.

Abdul Mutalib said Malaysians can begin submitting their applications online at the end of the year.

PR1MA targets to build houses priced at between RM100,000 and RM400,000, depending on location.

He said they were also looking at compiling a “reserve list” to notify interested house buyers whenever a house was vacated or became available.

Besides first-time house buyers, he said single property owners were also eligible, depending on the type of property.

Those with a combined household income (husband and wife, not inclusive of children) of between RM2,500 and RM7,500 each month are eligible.

Only house buyers who live or work in the respective cities where the houses are built, or those who plan to move to those cities, will be eligible.