Report: Rehda KL slams DBKL’s gazetting of plot ratio caps

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Federal Territories (KL) has “slammed” City Hall’s (DBKL) gazetting of plot ratio caps for property developments, reported The Edge Malaysia in its latest issue.

Rehda KL also said the move is “unfair to players that have invested in land with approved high density or plot ratio, particularly in the vicinity of the MRT lines”.

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“We appeal to the authorities to consider putting back the earlier approved plot ratios in the new KL City Plan 2040. This will help restore investor confidence in the city’s administration,” Rehda KL chairman Datuk Wan Hashimi Albakri Wan Ahmad Amin Jaffri told the weekly.

“Most developers are unlikely to resubmit plans that satisfy the gazetted lower density and plot ratio as that would mean losses. Developments in KL will be stifled by (the) lower plot ratio. They should be more compact and vertical as land is getting scarce.”

Wan Hashimi added that the cap will push up property prices in KL.

“It will also make the government’s aim to deliver affordable housing in the city very challenging,” he said.

It was reported two weeks ago that property projects, which were granted approval in principle with a higher plot ratio than what is permitted under the KLCP 2020, are required to seek new approval from DBKL.

The requirement applies to all types of developments, including commercial and residential, in the capital city, according to DBKL.

Depending on land use zoning, the maximum plot ratio in the city is 1:10.

“Developments should be built with density that would be supportive of productivity. Plot ratios should not be so low that they cause sprawling effects and pollution. With the MRT, transit-oriented developments should be given higher plot ratios for greater productivity. Plot ratios should not be capped so low that they hinder KL’s growth as a global city,” Wan Hashimi explained.