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Low earners may ‘lose out’ in expanded housing program
Experts are wary that the new regulation will put more pressure on already struggling low-income communities, as they will have to compete with individuals in the new higher-income brackets to secure affordable housing.
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Pictured above is a subsidized-housing complex in Bogor, West Java, on Jan. 6, 2020. (Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya)
T
he government is expanding a subsidized housing program to people in higher-income brackets to help members of the middle class close the homeownership gap, but experts have warned the move could undermine access for those in lower-income groups.
Unmarried individuals in Greater Jakarta who earn an income of up to Rp 12 million (US$722) each month are now eligible for government housing programs, according to Public Housing and Settlements Ministerial Regulation No. 5/2025 issued on April 22.
Similar arrangements have been put in place for married individuals with a monthly income of up to Rp 14 million. The previous criteria set an income cap of no more than Rp 8 million per month regardless of marital status.
The regulation also contains similar stipulations for three other geographic zones outside Greater Jakarta.
“This regulation aims to increase access and affordability for low-income families to housing development and homeownership by adjusting the income limits,” Housing Ministry secretary-general Didyk Choiroel said in a press conference broadcast live on April 24.
A number of developer associations attending the press conference applauded the new regulation, but they hoped the government would further adjust the price ceilings for subsidized homes.
They recommended the creation of a new segment within the subsidized housing program to cater to higher-income earners, expanding price options beyond the current cap of Rp 166 million or Rp 185 million.
