Mayor Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said DBKL will hold detailed discussions with all departments concerned to study appropriate methods to determine reasonable rates according to the number of rooms.

Through this system, he said, existing tenants will have to pay higher rental rates together with other charges.

“However, the advantages are the residents will no longer need to deal with banks to manage the agreement because all processes will involve the buyers and DBKL only,” he told reporters after launching the Jalur Gemilang campaign here today.

Tenants are now renting units for between RM124 and RM300 a month, depending on the number of rooms.

Mhd Amin was commenting on the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Sunday that the PPR projects in the city will be implemented on the hire-purchase system without deposit to ease the people’s burden.

Mhd Amin said DBKL also planned to standardise each PPR block according to specific categories, such as the rental block and hire purchase block, to be more systematic.

However, he said, the attitude of residents who did not pay their rents, until the total arrears amounted to RM38 million, was among the major constraints in implementing the new system.

“We (DBKL) can manage the hire purchase system but we want the tenants to be more disciplined in paying their rents.

“According to the Cabinet’s decision, if an individual fails to pay rent for three months, we can take back his or her home.”

In addition, he urged all city dwellers, including the owners of premises and government buildings, shopping malls, hotels and residential units to display the Jalur Gemilang in order to demonstrate their patriotism in celebrating the 59th National Day on Aug 31.