Housing Shortage Still Unresolved

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The problem of inadequate housing remains far from resolved. In fact, the situation is worsening due to the growing imbalance between supply and demand.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The people need decent homes, but doubts have emerged as to whether the existing housing supply system can provide enough housing.

According to the technical plan mentioned in the 2020-2034 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024 prepared by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), as quoted by this newspaper on Sunday, 61.7 percent of approximately 65 million households in Indonesia still dwell in inadequate housing. Housing is a basic human need and is guaranteed in Article 28 (h) of the 1945 Constitution.

Based on data from the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry (PUPR), the housing shortage reached 11.4 million units, while an additional 800,000 houses a year is needed to meet additional demand. In 2015, the government implemented its One Million Houses program to reduce the housing shortage. The technical plan for 2020-2024 RPJMN also states that affordable housing built for low-income earners tended to spread out far from the city center.

Hamzirwan, 43, who lives in a subsidized house in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, complained about the distance between his house and the city. There is no public transportation near his house. As he only has one motorcycle, he has to take his children to school before going to work. "I take the children to their school on my way to [work]. After the school finishes, I have to ask for permission to pick up the children," said the supermarket attendant. Luthfiana, 30, a subsidized home owner in Karawang, West Java, must spend extra money to repair his house, which was built only in 2017. He complained of cracked walls and poor-quality door frames.

In North Sumatra, the government built 70,000 subsidized houses from 2015 to 2019. However, that number is far from enough to plug the supply-demand gap with a lack of 411,000 houses in the province.

The head of the office for housing and residential settlements of the North Sumatra provincial government, Ida Mariana, said around 20,000 subsidized and commercial houses were built in North Sumatra annually. "It could take more than 20 years to overcome the housing shortage in North Sumatra. That assumption does not include the annual growth in demand for houses," Ida said.

In Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, the number of subsidized houses built totals only 10,000, a far cry from the government’s target of 23,452. The head of the Balikpapan housing and settlements office, Ketut Astana said, the construction of subsidized houses was constrained by the prices of land and building materials.

Panangian Simanungkalit from the Panangian School of Property said the One Million Houses program rolled out by the government had failed to tackle the housing shortage, with only 200,000 to 300,000 new houses supplied per year.

The government’s budget for housing subsidies for low-income families in the form of housing finance liquidity facilities (FLPP) and interest rate subsidies is only enough for 200,000 houses a year.

The government has also not been able to provide land in well-connected areas for subsidized housing. "The supply of houses has not been able to catch up with the pace of housing needs," he said.

Panangian attributed the failure of the community housing program to the inability to provide land for affordable housing in convenient locations.

Collaboration

The director general for housing at the Public Works and Housing Ministry, Khalawi Abdul Hamid, said that, as the provision of adequate housing for low-income earners should involve all stake holders, it was a complicated and complex matter.

"It cannot be carried out in a hurry and one-sided. It should be carried in cooperation between local governments, developers, academics, housing [market experts] and the community. In these five years the One Million Houses program has been quite successful in mobilizing stakeholders," Khalawi said.

As of Aug. 19, the government says, it has built 808,401 houses under the One Million Houses program this year. The acquisition of land remains the main problem for the construction of housing for low-income families, according to Khalawi, as most of the land in urban areas was controlled by private parties.

The government has failed to anticipate the sharp growth in land purchases by the private sector. Another problem, said Khalawi, was the issue of regulations and licensing. The central government has issued regulations to facilitate the provision of housing for low-income people, such as Government Regulation No. 64 of 2016 concerning low-income community housing.

However, in some regions, it still takes a long time to obtain licenses needed for housing development. According to the secretary-general of the Indonesian Real Estate Company Association (REI), Totok Lusida, the construction of subsidized houses still depends on regulations, not on the national economy. Increasing and changing regulations will make it difficult for developers to build subsidized houses.

The secretary-general of the Association of Indonesian Housing and Settlement Developers (Apersi), Daniel Djumali, said the availability of budget funds was the main concern for the construction of subsidized housing. If the subsidy was stopped, low-income people would not be able to buy subsidized houses.

"The increase in land prices has also led to an increase in the price ceiling of subsidized houses set by the government," he said. (LKT/NAD/NSA/MEL/CIP)

Editor:

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