Your first home, every question answered.

Roughly: the part of the price the loan does not cover (10% with a 90% loan, paid when you sign), stamp duty on the transfer and on the loan agreement (zero for a qualifying first home up to RM 500,000), and legal fees on both, plus SST and disbursements. The section above works it out for three real projects.

No percentage cap appears in the regulations we read. What the 2015 amendment does say (regulation 11(2)) is that no one, including a stakeholder, may collect any payment that is not set out in the sale agreement, and Schedule H’s first payment is 10% on signing. Ask in writing how any booking payment is treated and refunded, and get a receipt naming the unit.

Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989, Schedule H, as amended 2015 (in force 1 Jul 2015); KPKT download page kpkt.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/88. Read 21 Oct 2026.

Bank Negara sets no ceiling for your first and second housing loans; each bank decides. For an individual’s third and later housing loans the cap is 70% of the property value (BNM, 3 November 2010; no withdrawal found). The maximum tenure has been 35 years since July 2013.

BNM press release 3 Nov 2010; BNM Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report 2013. Read 21 Oct 2026.

BNM does not fix a debt-service ratio. Banks must assess affordability with a prudent DSR on income after tax and EPF; each bank sets its own limit. BNM’s 2H 2025 Financial Stability Review puts the median DSR on outstanding household loans at 33%. Try your own numbers in the loan calculator.

BNM Responsible Lending policy; Financial Stability Review 2H 2025. Read 21 Oct 2026.

New floating-rate loans are priced as the Standardised Base Rate plus the bank’s spread, and the SBR moves with Bank Negara’s Overnight Policy Rate (OPR). The OPR is 2.75%, kept unchanged on 3 September 2026; the last change was a cut from 3.00% on 9 July 2025. Loans approved before 1 August 2022 stay on the old base rate unless refinanced.

BNM Reference Rate Framework, 27 Mar 2026; Monetary Policy Statement, 3 Sep 2026. Read 21 Oct 2026.

On the price or market value, whichever is higher: 1% on the first RM 100,000, 2% up to RM 500,000, 3% up to RM 1,000,000 and 4% above. For homes sold to non-citizens who are not permanent residents (and foreign companies), a flat 8% for transfers executed from 1 January 2026.

Stamp Act 1949, First Schedule item 32(a) (LHDN text as at 1 Jan 2024); item 32(ab) inserted by Finance Act 2025 (Act 874), gazetted 31 Dec 2025. Read 21 Oct 2026.

In force now: 100% exemption on both the transfer and the loan agreement for a Malaysian citizen buying one residential home with a market value of up to RM 500,000, who has never owned a residential property (including inherited, gifted or joint), with the sale agreement signed from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027.

Proposed, not yet law: Budget 2027 (tabled 9 October 2026) proposes, for sale agreements from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030, full exemption up to RM 500,000 and, up to RM 750,000, exemption on the first RM 500,000 plus 50% on the part above it. Serviced apartment buyers: LHDN’s declaration form excludes SOHO, SOFO, SOVO and service apartments, which the Malaysian Bar says conflicts with the law; check with your lawyer.

P.U.(A) 53/2021 and 448/2025 (transfer), 54/2021 and 449/2025 (loan), as summarised in Malaysian Bar Circular 128/2026 (16 Apr 2026); MOF Budget 2027 Tax Measures, Appendix 16, and budget speech para 56. Read 21 Oct 2026.

0.5% of the loan (RM 5 per RM 1,000), item 27(a)(iii) of the First Schedule; covered by the first-home exemption above when you qualify.

Stamp Act 1949, First Schedule (LHDN text as at 1 Jan 2024). Read 21 Oct 2026.

The Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2023 sets the scale: 1.25% on the first RM 500,000 (minimum RM 500), 1% on the next RM 7 million. Buying from a developer uses a share of that scale with no discount allowed: 75% up to RM 250,000, 70% up to RM 500,000, 65% up to RM 1,000,000, 50% above. The same scale applies to the loan documents. SST and disbursements are extra.

Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2023, P.U.(A) 207/2023, in force 15 Jul 2023; Malaysian Bar Circular 258/2023. Read 21 Oct 2026.

Yes, from Akaun Sejahtera (since 11 May 2024 contributions split 75% Persaraan, 15% Sejahtera, 10% Fleksibel). To buy a house you must be under 55 with at least RM 500 in Akaun Sejahtera. With a loan you can withdraw the difference between price and loan plus 10% of the price, or the whole Akaun Sejahtera balance, whichever is lower; for up to two homes (the first sold before the second). Apply within 3 years of the sale agreement. You can also withdraw once a year to reduce the loan, or monthly towards the instalment (at least RM 600 in the account).

KWSP house withdrawal pages (kwsp.gov.my), read via web archive copies of Feb 2026 on 21 Oct 2026; Flexible Housing page Oct 2025.

The Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP) guarantees loans for buyers without fixed income: up to RM 500,000 under the standard scheme, including MRTA, legal and valuation fees; SJKP-MADANI up to RM 360,000. Budget 2027 proposes up to RM 20 billion of guarantees for about 80,000 first-time buyers (proposal). Income limits are set by SJKP; check with the bank.

SJKP (sjkp.com.my), read 21 Oct 2026; Budget 2027 speech para 55 (proposal).

The Housing Development Act 1966 and its 1989 regulations: the sale agreement must follow the statutory form (Schedule G for landed, Schedule H for strata), payments follow construction stages, and the developer must hold a licence and an advertising permit. Late delivery and defects have fixed remedies (below).

Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989, Schedule H, as amended 2015 (in force 1 Jul 2015); KPKT download page kpkt.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/88. Read 21 Oct 2026.

Ten per cent on signing, then by construction stage, each payable within 30 days of the developer’s notice. Your loan starts paying from the stage after your own 10%, so interest grows as the building rises.

Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989, Schedule H, as amended 2015 (in force 1 Jul 2015); KPKT download page kpkt.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/88. Read 21 Oct 2026.

Strata units must be delivered within 36 months of the sale agreement (landed: 24 months). If late, the developer pays liquidated damages of 10% a year of the purchase price, counted daily. Common facilities are also due within 36 months, with 10% a year on the last 20% of the price if late. Vacant possession can only be given with a CCC.

Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989, Schedule H, as amended 2015 (in force 1 Jul 2015); KPKT download page kpkt.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/88. Read 21 Oct 2026. Schedule H clauses 25–27.

The defect liability period is 24 months from vacant possession; the developer must repair within 30 days of your written notice. Report defects in writing, with photos, and keep copies.

KPKT / Jabatan Perumahan Negara FAQ, updated 5 Sep 2025; Schedule H. Read 21 Oct 2026.

The Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims (Tribunal Tuntutan Pembeli Rumah) hears claims up to RM 50,000, for a RM 10 filing fee, without lawyers. A claim is generally filed within 12 months of the CCC date or of the end of the defect liability period (the official page stating this is older; confirm when you file).

KPKT pages 438 (updated 8 Jun 2026) and 682 (updated 16 Jun 2026); JPN page archived 2019 for the time limit. Read 21 Oct 2026.

KPKT’s TEDUH site (teduh.kpkt.gov.my) lets you search housing projects by location, type and price and shows construction status. On our project pages we show the licence, permit, schedule, progress and the developer’s record as looked up on TEDUH, e.g. Khaya Residences.

MyGOV page on TEDUH, 13 Mar 2026; TEDUH lookups 20 Oct 2026.

The Certificate of Completion and Compliance (Form F) says the building is complete and safe to occupy. It is issued by the principal submitting person (the architect, professional engineer or building draughtsman), not the council, once 21 supporting Form G certificates are in. Vacant possession needs Form F; it replaced the old CFO in 2007.

KPKT Local Government Department FAQ on CCC (jkt.kpkt.gov.my); Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 s.70(20). Read 21 Oct 2026.

Schedule H requires the developer to apply so that the strata title is issued before vacant possession; it can come later only with the Controller’s written approval, and the title must be handed over within 30 days of registration. Owners form a joint management body at the first AGM, within 12 months of vacant possession; later the management corporation takes over. The sinking fund is 10% of the maintenance charges, both shared by share units.

Schedule H clauses 12 and 28; Strata Management Act 2013 ss. 12(4), 17, 18, 57. Read 21 Oct 2026.

A leasehold title runs for a fixed term; under the National Land Code leases of state land go up to 99 years. Freehold (“in perpetuity”) is granted only in limited cases. Tenure is shown on every project page here as plain data.

National Land Code (Revised 2020), Act 828, s.76. Read 21 Oct 2026.

Quit rent (cukai tanah, or strata quit rent) to the state land office, due 1 January and in arrears from 1 June; and assessment (cukai taksiran) to the local council. In MBPJ, assessment is paid in two halves, before 28 February and 31 August, and a new owner must notify the council within 3 months of the transfer.

National Land Code s.94; Local Government Act 1976 ss.127 and 160; MBPJ assessment guide, Jul 2025. Read 21 Oct 2026.

Real property gains tax for a citizen or PR: 30% of the gain within 3 years, 20% in the 4th year, 15% in the 5th, 0% from the 6th. The first RM 10,000 or 10% of the gain (whichever is greater) is exempt, and citizens and PRs have a once-in-a-lifetime exemption for a private residence. The buyer keeps back 3% of the price and pays it to LHDN; both sides file within 60 days.

LHDN RPGT rates (updated 23 Jun 2026), exemptions (22 Jun 2026), retention (25 May 2026). Read 21 Oct 2026.

With state consent, above a minimum price. The federal guideline (13 July 2022) bars foreigners from homes under RM 1,000,000, low-cost and low-medium-cost homes, Malay Reserve land and Bumiputera units; states can set more. Foreigners pay 8% transfer duty on homes from 2026.

Ministry of Economy, Garis Panduan Perolehan Hartanah, 13 Jul 2022; Pekeliling PTG Selangor 1/2014 (in force 1 Sep 2014); PTG Penang guideline updated 1 Aug 2024; PTG Johor page. Read 21 Oct 2026. See also the MM2H guide.