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Informal workers can enjoy low housing down payments in 2017
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Squatters from Ria-Rio reservoir carry furniture provided by the city administration to their new residence at the Pinus Elok low-cost apartments in Cakung, East Jakarta, in October 2013. This year, the Public Works and Housing Ministry will kick off construction of Rp 5.7 trillion (US$432 million) worth of apartments for low-income and middle-class households. (JP /P.J. Leo)
T
he Public Works and Public Housing Ministry said on Friday that it will create a new policy next year that allows informal workers to obtain housing mortgages with low down payments.
Maurin Sitorus, the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry's directorate general of housing finance, said that the new policy is a type of house financing support based on bank savings. In the new scheme, the government will waive the cost of down payments that is usually pegged at 30 percent of the house price.
“With this new scheme, the government will provide down payment assistance. However, informal workers are initially required to save their money in banks for six months to a year,” he said at a press conference in Jakarta.
After their worker’s savings reached 5 percent, then their down payment is considered paid off since the government would pay the remaining 25 percent, he explained.
“Then, the participants can pay the remaining 70 percent by installments with commercial rate loans,” he said.
Maurin said that the final decision on whether the participant is able to get the financing support or not depends upon the bank’s assessment of the fluctuations in the workers’ savings.(jun)
