Leasehold Land

It was reported the State Government of Selangor will renew the leasehold land at Old Town PJ from 30 years to 99 years. Indeed it is good news for the owners to see their lease of land being extended although they are not too pleased with the amount of premium to be paid.

It is a common scene in this particular section of PJ that many houses are in the dilapidated stage or its' original wooden form since the inception of Petaling Jaya way back 1950s. Many youthful owners who have been here then are in their early 70 years old. To ask them to pay up extra premium for staying put here or even to request them to renovate their house to modern stage is simply too luxury for them to do so. Their family members, too are not too sure to pay almost market price for inheriting the property from their parent.

The equation of investing in land and property for your children or next generation is perhaps not applicable under this kind of circumstances.

This has affected the regeneration process of the older part of city. Many simply cannot afford to invest in their own premise and let alone the surrounding or community. If the original settlers are forced to move out and replaced by the newcomers who can afford, then I afraid the inculcation of community spirit amongst the residents which is not an easy task at all can be destroyed. It is so vulnerable.

Leasehold of land has indeed a big role to play in determining the urban regeneration of city. If the matter is not solved prior to master plan preparation of a dilapidated area, I presume major changes will only involve the new investors and new businesses, perhaps nothing to do with the existing settlers. Perhaps it is new planning for a brownfield area instead of community development which is the basis for urban regeneration.