TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Empty offices can ease Jakarta housing backlog with right incentives, JPI says
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Vehicles are seen parked at Kalibata City Apartments, Jakarta, on Oct. 10, 2015. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
ransforming empty office space into residential areas could help ease the housing backlog in Jakarta and its surroundings, according to Jakarta Property Institute (JPI), but implementing the idea will be a challenge given prevailing regulatory red tape and high costs.
JPI executive director Wendy Haryanto told The Jakarta Post on Monday that it requires the right incentives so that building owners are willing to convert empty office buildings into vertical housing.
Despite appearing to be a promising solution to help ease demand for housing, converting office space incurs high costs that would discourage owners from taking the move, she said. Re-arranging plumbing systems and electricity, among many other measures, would be particularly pricey.
According to Wendy, licensing could be tough as building licenses for offices and households differ from each other.
“Adding plumbing or an elevator to make the office more habitable is complicated and requires a lot of work. For instance, Pasar Rumput apartment complex lacks an elevator but is still very expensive,” she said.
Read also: Local consortium in IKN is CSR based, Astra Land executive says
As a result, no one is currently interested in transforming workplaces into living spaces, she said. Property owners would face difficulties in getting a reasonable return, given the expense of converting offices into housing.
