Revive first-home financing scheme, govt urged

The government has been urged to revive MyDeposit, a first-home financing scheme, in the 2027 budget to be tabled on Oct 9.

MyDeposit was introduced in 2016 to help first-time homebuyers with their downpayments, providing assistance of up to 10% of the property price, or RM30,000, whichever was lower.

However, the programme has not been offered since 2021.

The Centre for the Advancement of Community and Housing (REACH) said the scheme could help new homebuyers who can afford monthly loan repayments but struggle to raise the upfront deposit.

Its chief coordinator, Iskandar Abdul Samad, noted that a 10% deposit for a RM300,000 home would amount to RM30,000, a sum that could be difficult for families to save amid the high cost of living.

“For many households, a large portion of their monthly income goes towards basic expenses such as food, transport, rent, their children’s education and utility bills.

“As a result, even if they have a steady income and are potentially able to meet monthly housing loan repayments, it takes them too long to save enough for a deposit,” he said in a statement.

Iskandar, who is also the PAS treasurer, proposed that a revived MyDeposit use a revolving fund model instead of the grant-based approach adopted under the previous scheme.

Under the proposed model, the government would advance part or all of the required deposit, with recipients repaying the assistance through interest-free instalments after moving into their homes.

The money repaid could then be used to assist other first-time homebuyers.

“With such an approach, the government allocation would not be exhausted after being given to one recipient, but could continue to revolve and benefit more Malaysians over the long term,” he said.

He said the scheme could be targeted at first-time homebuyers, particularly those in the low- and middle-income groups, and limited to affordable homes.

“The aim is not to provide free homes, but to help Malaysians who can meet monthly repayments overcome the most basic initial barrier to homeownership,” he said.

Iskandar said 3,106 first-time housebuyers had benefitted from the MyDeposit scheme, with RM86.386 million disbursed.

He also noted that the housing and local government ministry had previously proposed a similar initiative known as Deposit Madani, but it did not receive an allocation under the 2025 budget.

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