Special Housing Institutions Are Considered Solutions to Overcome People's Housing Shortage

Efforts to meet the basic needs of the board require government focus and support.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO (PRI)

Samina was sunning the mattress in a subsidized housing complex in Cibunar Village, Parung Panjang, Bogor Regency, West Java on Monday (19/2/2024). The residential area with subsidized mortgage scheme is intended for low-income communities with low interest rates and light installments.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Currently, discourse is growing about the need for the government to form a Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs or immediately realize a Housing Acceleration Agency. The formation of a government agency specifically to deal with housing is considered to be a solution to the problem of the shortage or backlog of people's housing.

Certain groups are pushing for the transition of government from President Joko Widodo-Vice President Ma'ruf Amin to the era of President Prabowo Subianto-Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka in October 2024 to be prepared with institutional relays that prioritize the acceleration of completion of basic housing needs issue.

Over the last 10 years, the number of housing shortages or backlogs in Indonesia has only decreased slightly. In 2012, as many as 13.6 million families were recorded as not having a home. Meanwhile, in 2022, there will be 12.7 million families who do not own a house or 20 percent of the total number of families.

The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing predicts that by 2035 as many as 66.6 percent of Indonesia's population of 304 million people will live in urban areas. This composition has increased compared to the population currently living in the city, which is around 56.7 percent.

Also Read: Million Houses Program Not Enough to Overcome "Backlog"

The Chairman of the Housing, Settlement and Urban Development Research Institute (The HUD Institute), Zulfi Syarif Koto, when contacted in Jakarta on Monday (May 6, 2024), stated that the people's housing affairs currently being handled by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing have not been maximally addressed. The shortage of houses is still high, while the need for new houses continues to increase due to the growth of new families.

The government has a homework to establish the Housing Acceleration Agency (BP3). The establishment of BP3 is mandated in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 9 of 2021 concerning the Housing Acceleration Agency. The regulation is a follow-up to the provisions of Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation, Article 50 and Article 185 letter b.

Public housing matters currently handled by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing are not running optimally.

However, even two years since the regulation was established, the BP3 institution has not yet been formed by the government. An institution that specifically deals with public housing is needed so that the basic issue of housing can be resolved more quickly.

"Special institutions for public housing can take the form of BP3 or the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The most important thing is that their function and role are clear in accelerating the resolution of public housing issues," said Zulfi.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Illustration of a landed house in the Kedungjaya area, Bekasi, West Java.

Functions and Authorities

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Central Executive Board of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI), Joko Suranto, when contacted separately on Monday, assessed that the focus on providing public housing requires a special ministry that deals with housing and urban areas. This is because in the future, the urban population will continue to increase and urban problems will become more complex.

The one million homes program initiated by the Joko Widodo administration since 2015 is considered not optimal. Meanwhile, the presidential-vice presidential pair elected for the 2024-2029 period, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is pledging a program to provide three million homes per year, or triple the current period's program.

In the "Propertinomics" concept proposed by REI, the formation of a Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is considered urgent for the country to focus on regulating policies, planning, budgeting, managing housing issues, and coordination. Meanwhile, the role of BP3 can be focused on program operations. Currently, there are six ministries/institutions handling housing issues. The issue of inter-ministerial coordination often becomes a stumbling block in resolving housing problems.

"The problems that are developing are not just housing issues, but are related to land provision, infrastructure, financing and related policies. This authority only belongs to the ministerial level, as well as a coordination function with cross-institutions/ministries. "If institutions do not have adequate authority capacity, the housing backlog problem will continue," said Joko.

Also read: The Long Road to Realizing Public Housing in Indonesia: from History, Programs to Challenges

From Kompas's records, the Ministry of Public Housing's nomenclature has been disassembled several times. The Ministry of Housing, among others, was formed during the 1978-1999 government period during the six government cabinets. In the 1999-2004 period, the Ministry of Housing was abolished, and then held again in the 2004-2014 period during two government cabinet terms. Furthermore, housing affairs were merged into the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing in the 2014-2024 period.

Model house in one of the housing projects being developed in the Cipondoh area, Tangerang City, Banten, Thursday (9/11/2023).

Previously, the Chairman of the Central Executive Board (DPP) of the Association of Housing and Settlement Developers throughout Indonesia (Apersi), Junaidi Abdillah, stated that the issue of housing shortage not only affects low-income households, but also middle-to-low-income earners with a standard salary between Rp 8 million to Rp 15 million per month, just slightly above the Minimum Regional Wage (MBR). On the other hand, households categorized as having incomes below the MBR and in need of social housing assistance, have not yet been fully accommodated.

Efforts to address the shortage of affordable housing for the low to middle income community require institutional breakthroughs, interventions, and coordination for the provision of land and housing, as well as stability in land prices for residential purposes.

The issue of the shortage of housing not only affects low-income communities, but also middle to lower income communities with a salary standard of IDR 8 million to IDR 15 million per month.

The government currently has a task to establish BP3 in order to accelerate the provision of affordable and suitable public housing for low-income communities. The role of BP3 is considered strategic for consolidation with cross-ministerial/institution related to housing, financing, and the implementation of balanced housing.

“So far, the balanced housing policy has barely worked. "BP3 plays a role in reviving the concept of balanced housing to solve the problem of housing shortages (backlog) which is still high," said Junaidi.