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Ara aims to reopen idle ‘rusun’ in Jakarta
The new housing minister is looking to reopen several unoccupied low-cost apartments in the city, including Rusun Pasar Rumput, to deliver affordable housing for low-income families in a bid to fulfill the President's campaign promise of providing 3 million homes annually.
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Children play on Oct. 20, 2019 along a set of stairs at Rusun Pasar Rumput, a low-cost apartment complex that is part of a mixed-use development in South Jakarta. (JP/Syelanita)
T
he newly installed Public Housing and Settlements Minister has revealed that scores of units at several rusun (low-cost apartments) across Jakarta were unoccupied, despite reports of a housing backlog in the city.
Along with Home Minister Tito Karnavian and acting Jakarta Governor Teguh Setyabudi, housing minister Maruarar “Ara” Sirait made a visit last Monday to Rusun Pasar Rumput in South Jakarta, which has been idle since it was used as an isolation facility during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
Ara has asked the Jakarta administration, which manages the apartments, to reopen the nearly 2,000-unit complex for low-income residents and civil servants at a monthly rent of around Rp 1.25 million (US$79), reduced from Rp 3.5 million previously.
This year’s minimum wage for Jakarta is set at Rp 5 million.
At present, around 400 units are occupied by victims of the Manggarai fire, which occurred on Aug. 13 and displaced around 4,000 people in 21 neighborhood units (RT) across the subdistrict in Tebet. The minister has extended an existing scheme to provide them with free shelter at Rusun Pasar Rumput from November 2024 previously to October 2025.
“It’s really sad knowing that [thousands of apartment units have been empty] for two years, showing how bad housing management is in the country,” Ara said, as quoted by Kompas.com, adding it was ironic that many Jakartans didn’t have access to affordable housing.
Read also: Prabowo plans to build, renovate 3 million homes annually
