Escalating property prices in the city do not affect the 60,000 households who continue to enjoy living in the city for a nominal RM124 (S$48) rental per month, thanks to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
Despite having outstanding rental arrears of a whopping RM45.4mil, DBKL has not failed to maintain all the Public Housing Units (PPA), People's Housing Projects (PPR) and longhouses under its care.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Housing Management and Community Development director Wan Mohammad Ghazali Nor said the tenants were lucky because no other agency would spend millions to maintain a facility with outstanding payments.
"We have managed to recover about RM14mil in rental arrears since we started locking water and electricity usage. We do not charge interest and we also provide links to charitable organisations to help poor families.
"We have more than 100,000 registered applicants - out of which we have shortlisted to 48,099 based on eligibility. We are also in the midst of relocating the residents of longhouses. However, there is only about 800 vacant units in PPR Pinggiran Bukit Jalil.
"It is impossible to accommodate everybody and we are constantly accused of being ignorant of the plight of the poor. For instance, we have a few vacant units reserved at many PPR and PPA for squatter relocation but to the public, it seems that we are just being difficult by not granting them the vacant units.
"Many do not know that the prime reason for PPA and PPR was to relocate squatters.
The lifts at many PPR are often vandalised, causing inconvenience to the residents during repairs. The lifts at many PPR are often vandalised, causing inconvenience to the residents during repairs.
"Sometimes, we are unable to relocate even the squatters because too many applicants ask for the same location and we have to be fair to all. That is why we have embarked on joint-ventures with private developers to build low-cost homes for the squatters at the same location, so the displacement of squatters was temporary," he said.
"We are also well aware of those who seldom live in their units. A task force has been set up and we have confiscated 143 units and hopefully, we will be able to take action against more tenants who are not living in their given units.
"To weed out the unit hoggers, new applicants are required to sign a three-year contract, after which it will be renewable every two years based on eligibility.
DBKL is adding anti-vandalism features like plastic covers over lift buttons to prevent them from being damaged. DBKL is adding anti-vandalism features like plastic covers over lift buttons to prevent them from being damaged.
"Units can only be passed down to two generations after which it has to be returned to DBKL," he said.
Wan Ghazali said on top of that, DBKL is still managing 13,851 low-cost houses which have failed to form joint management bodies to manage the premises.
"The people are so very comfortable with DBKL's management that they are refusing to stand on their own. We cannot manage them for long, so we have started taking legal action against some," he said.
He said the biggest challenge they faced in terms of maintenance and cleanliness of the residential area was the attitude of the people.
This small playground at PPR Sungai Bonus in Setapak provides a place for the children to play. This small playground at PPR Sungai Bonus in Setapak provides a place for the children to play.
"Recently, we installed spiral bins in a few areas to serve as compacters to prevent rubbish from overflowing. However, people throw the rubbish outside the bins.
"Vandalism is also a big problem. We have 523 lifts and it was a target for vandals. There was also a case of a lift that was set on fire out of anger. Lift buttons are often damaged and the walls defaced. We are constantly looking for anti-vandalism features.
"There are also people who urinate inside lifts, damaging parts of the facility and causing corrosion. We are now installing more durable materials to minimise damage.
"From our budget of RM12mil last year for maintenance, half was spent to repair damages from vandalism. The people have to change their mentality and have a sense of belonging and responsibility to care for their neighbourhood," he said.
To encourage good practices, the community development aspect was recently set up in the department.
Wan Ghazali said they disbursed RM10,000 to each residents association to organise programmes promoting neighbourliness.
"There are 350 residents associations, which means we give out RM3.5mil for community projects. On top of that, we will offer help in terms of logistics, food, transport and allowance on project basis.
"We also organise carnivals, sports and recreational event to being the people together and promote integrity and togetherness. We organise social activities based on focus groups to make sure that no one is left out of our programs.
"For those earning below RM1,500, we have special programmes to generate income such as having baking, sewing and computer classes. For the students, we have free tuition classes and seminars and also pre-schools at 24 locations.
"We have many community-centred programmes under our wings but do not get much publicity," he said.
Wan Ghazali said the PPA and PPR could be a conducive place to live in, provided the people were more civic-conscious and made payments on time, to ensure that the management and maintenance were done on time.
"Maintenance cost for every unit is RM250. The tenants are enjoying a subsidised rate but yet many do not pay on time.
"People must prioritise their needs based on finances and do not take DBKL payment for granted. We have been very lenient for many years but are getting more aggressive with enforcement due to the errant tenant.
"But my wish was for all deserving tenants to take ownership of their neighbourhood and live peacefully in a clean and well-maintained environment, thus making our job of maintaining the property easy and cost-saving," he said.
More information on the Housing Management and Community Development department, visit eperumahan.dbkl.gov.my/.