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| Model units of the prefab homes that the Ministry of Public Housing envisions as an affordable plan to homeownership. Accounting for all the costs associated with them, setting up the houses would cost at least Rp 70 million, with mortgage plans available. (JG Photo/ Afriadi Hikmal) |
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Shortly
after he was appointed public housing minister in October, Djan Faridz was
given a daunting challenge: build Rp 25 million ($2,750) houses for low-ranking
civil servants on land provided by the local government.
“I was
shocked,” he told the Jakarta Globe in a recent interview. “How can I build a
house with only Rp 25 million? And I wanted it to have at least a
36-square-meter [floor area].”
But he soon
found an answer in Palembang, South Sumatra. In a trip to the province, he met
representatives of Grand Wijaya Persada, a construction company that has been
building houses for even less than that amount.
A model
cheap house
Inside the
ministry compound in South Jakarta, a fully furnished, two-bedroom
45-square-meter model unit now stands.
The basic
structure of the prefab house costs Rp 35 million, sans flooring, ceiling and
paint, which runs an additional Rp 5 million.
Beside it,
a model unit of the Rp 25 million, 36-square-meter version is being built.
Visible for now is the steel mold where concrete would be poured into to create
the basic structure. But it won’t remain like that for long, because the house
can be finished in as little as seven days.
Anyone
interested in looking at the model units is welcome at the ministry. Both units
have a defined two-bedroom floor plan according to the prefab mold patented by
Umar Sumadi, the production head at Grand Wijaya. A single mold can be used to
construct as many as 200 houses.
The
ministry has already signed a memorandum of understanding with several other
ministries committing to help provide civil servants with these cheap houses.
Djan said
the project would be done in 60 districts and municipalities across the
country, starting off with East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and North Maluku.
The
ministry is aiming to build around 7,900 cheap houses in NTT and 2,000 in North
Maluku this year, among others.
Rp 70
million dream
The
minister, however, is keen on finding a way to make the same cheap houses
available to all Indonesians.
“Housing is
a serious matter, after food and clothing. But many cannot afford it because
it’s remarkably expensive,” Djan said.
According
to his ministry’s data, as many as 4.8 million Indonesians today live in
dilapidated houses, and more than 11 million people do not have their own
homes. And with real estate prices expected to keep rising, chances are these
figures will only climb higher.
That’s why
the minister’s goal is to give Indonesians a chance to own a home for an
affordable Rp 70 million.
Here’s how
he sees it: in certain parts of Jakarta’s satellite cities, say Depok, people
can still get a 60-square-meter plot of land for less than Rp 20 million.
If the Rp
25 million, 36-square-meter prefab model is built on that land, then for as
little as Rp 70 million — including flooring, ceiling, paint, electricity and
water installations and other fixtures — an Indonesian family can have a home
it can call its own.
“Of course
you can also get it elsewhere, anywhere you want,” the minister said. “So if you
are outside Java, you can get a house for even less than Rp 70 million.”
Bringing it
to the people
The idea is
that the ministry will work with developers who can build subdivisions full of
these prefab units.
For a
housing project to be economically feasible, at least 200 units must be
constructed to maximize the use of the mold. Grand Wijaya would earn a 5
percent licensing fee for each socialized housing project.
Indonesians
can then buy the houses from these developers at prices determined together
with the ministry. Of course, certain conditions, such as that the potential
buyer does not own a house yet, have to be met.
The
ministry will then help get bank housing loans. For a Rp 70 million house, Djan
said the current computation would see a buyer pay Rp 575,000 a month for 15
years.
But it
might still be a while before these become a reality, as the ministry hasn’t
begun discussions with developers yet.
Real Estate
Indonesia chair Setyo Maharso said delivering low-cost homes was not a problem,
and the ministry’s plan could be executed in the same way as previous programs.
Doing it in
Jakarta, though, would not be easy, he said.
“It’s even
quite difficult to build it in Depok. Bogor or Bekasi are still possible, but
not here in Jakarta,” he said.
Although he
completely supports the policy, he said prefab units were not always ideal.
“Low-income
families usually buy a small house, but when they have money, they will build
more rooms. But prefab houses are not really flexible for modifications,” he
said.
Priyo
Suprobo, a structural engineer with the Sepuluh November Institute of
Technology (ITS), agreed. He said modifying a prefab structure would be difficult,
and that the lack of flexibility was a major weakness.
Another is
that people could not embed electrical wiring into the walls.
But Priyo
still believes this kind of model can help low-income families solve their
housing problems, “especially if the ministry provides a subsidy,” he said.
Will people
buy?
Ridwan, a
security guard in an office building in Kuningan, currently rents a house in
Kedoya in Kebun Jeruk, West Jakarta, with his wife and child for Rp 350,000.
Hearing
about the Rp 70 million house made him happy and hopeful. “I think it’s
affordable, and 36 square meters looks decent enough,” he said.
On the
other hand, Afrizal, a single 24-year-old noddle seller in Lenteng Agung, felt
the Rp 575,000 amortization per month was still out of reach.
“It’s
already hard to make ends meet,” he said.
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