Salkukhairi Abd Sukor, president of Persatuan Guaman Hartanah Malaysia, said the government is currently drafting the Act, aimed at protecting both landlords and their clients with clearer and fairer rules.

He said it would provide a guideline for reasonable rental rates on houses and rooms, according to the location and type of property.

Salkukhairi’s comments come in the wake of an FMT report highlighting the plight of young workers living in “store room-like” conditions in the Klang Valley as a result of expensive rental rates.

They said a house in Kuala Lumpur would cost at least RM1,200 a month to rent, on top of a four or five-month deposit.

Salkukhairi said rental of premises in areas in and around the city was determined by the value of the property.

“If the value of a property in an area is high, then the rental rate will also be high.

“If we look at the statistics released by the Valuation and Property Services Department, the estimated property value in big cities increases by between 10% and 20% every year,” he said.

As such, he said, increases in property value were unavoidable, causing rents for houses and rooms to also go up.

However, he noted that there has been a slight drop in rental rates in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Salkukhairi expressed hope that with the Act enforced, rental rates would be determined by set factors, and not according to landlords’ demands.