By Danial Dzulkifly
PETALING JAYA, July 17 — The proposed Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) may finally offer legal protection to Malaysians facing racial discrimination in the rental housing market, particularly the Indian community, which has long borne the brunt of such prejudice.
Architects of Diversity (AOD) executive director Jason Wee said the issue of race-based filtering by landlords and agents remains pervasive, with Malaysian Indians descent most affected by entrenched stereotypes and informal biases that have gone unchallenged for decades.
“We’ve seen consistent findings across our research and public sentiment surveys. If the RTA isn’t tabled and passed, it will do a great injustice to Malaysian Indians seeking fairness in housing,” he said during a forum hosted by Social Democracy Malaysia (SocDem) and AOD here yesterday.
The forum, titled Tackling Racial Discrimination Against Indians in the Malaysian Rental Market, gathered elected representatives, researchers and civil society actors to discuss how the proposed legislation that has been years in the making can formalise protections and promote equal treatment in the rental market.
Wee said the fear of loss of income remained the top concern among landlords, often driving them to pre-emptively screen tenants based on race rather than actual financial credentials.
“Many landlords say they’re not racist, they just have a preference. But when you look closer, it’s one and the same.”
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An undated file photo of a skyline in the Klang Valley. — Picture by BERNAMA[/caption]
SocDem co-founder and Petaling Jaya City Council member M. Kusaliny, who helped draft the RTA proposal, said the act aims to strike a balance between protecting tenants from unfair eviction or discrimination and ensuring landlords have effective recourse in cases of non-payment or property damage.
She said the centrepiece of the proposed act is the establishment of a rental tribunal, which would allow both parties to resolve disputes efficiently without the cost of legal representation, with claims capped at RM250,000.
“It’s not just tenants who get cheated. Landlords also struggle when things go wrong, and today, they have no clear route to seek justice. The tribunal gives both parties a fair shot.”
Bukit Gasing assemblyman and SocDem co-founder R. Rajiv said this latest version of the RTA under the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) represents a shift from earlier drafts, notably during Zuraida Kamaruddin’s tenure from 2018 to 2021, which was seen as favourable to tenants.
“This one is different, it offers a more balanced framework that still confronts the issue of discrimination head-on,” he said.
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An aerial view of a new housing project in the Klang Valley. — Picture by BERNAMA[/caption]
Years in making
The RTA was first mooted in January 2019 as part of the National Housing Policy 2018-2025, which aimed to create a more regulated rental market while improving access to affordable home ownership.
The act was intended to protect both landlords and tenants through clearer guidelines, dispute resolution mechanisms, and fairer contracts.
Public consultations with industry stakeholders began in 2022, but the bill was never tabled. In March 2023, then Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Akmal Nasir announced plans to bring the bill to Parliament by 2024.
Following a ministerial reshuffle, incumbent Nga Kor Ming resumed engagement with state governments and industry players in late 2024. As of March this year, the ministry confirmed the bill was still being drafted.
At present, landlord-tenant relationships are only loosely governed by a patchwork of laws, including the Contracts Act 1950, the Specific Relief Act 1950, the Distress Act 1951, and the Civil Law Act 1956.
None of these provide targeted protections for renters or landlords in the private housing market, or include any provision against racial discrimination.
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Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming speaks at a bilateral meeting with United Nations Development Programme undersecretary-general Haoliang Xu in New York, the United States, on July 17, 2024. — Picture via FACEBOOK/NGA KOR MING[/caption]
Timing crucial
Independent researcher Fikri Fisal pointed out that while official data from the Statistics Department places average rental expenditure in Klang Valley at RM600, the figure is likely skewed by social housing units.
He believes the true average hovers closer to 30 per cent of household income.
“Regulating the rental market through the RTA would not only protect rights, it could open the door to innovations like renters’ insurance,” he said, but acknowledged that some in the property sector may see the current timing of the RTA implementation as unfavourable following the recent overnight policy rate cut by 25 basis points.
During the forum’s open dialogue session, some participants also raised a similar view, questioning whether the RTA might dampen growth in the property sector.
Others raised concerns that provisions banning racial discrimination could eventually be used to challenge Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which protects Malay and Bumiputera privileges.
Wee, however, rejected the notion, citing 2022 amendments to the Employment Act 1955, which prohibit workplace discrimination and have coexisted with Malaysia’s constitutional framework.
“This is about regulating services. The same way we have food safety rules, we should have standards for housing,” he said, adding that it should be unacceptable for a landlord or property agent to discriminate against a potential tenant based on their race.
The forum also spotlighted new survey data supporting the RTA implementation.
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Police and army personnel oversee the entry point at the guardhouse following the enforced semi-enhanced movement control order at Taman Langat Murni, Kuala Langat, on June 7, 2020. — Picture by REMY ARIFIN/SELANGORKINI[/caption]
Majority supports tenancy legislation
A nationally representative YouGov poll commissioned by AOD earlier this month found that 56.9 per cent of Malaysians support a national law that sets clearer rules for the rental housing market, while only 10 per cent opposed the idea.
Support for the creation of a rental tribunal was similarly strong, at 50.3 per cent, with just 10.3 per cent in opposition.
Net support was highest among older respondents, those in the central region, high-income groups, degree holders and retirees.
However, public opinion remains split on whether racial discrimination in rentals should be banned.
Just under half of respondents (49.9 per cent) believe landlords should retain the right to choose their tenants based on race.
About 31.6 per cent said race-based rejection should be made illegal, while the remainder were undecided.
Malaysian Indians (63.8 per cent), Gen Z respondents (39.0 per cent), and full-time students (42.3 per cent) were the most likely to support an outright ban.
Kusaliny said SocDem has consulted listing agents, developers and tenant groups to shape the RTA proposal, and intends to build a coalition of support that includes other civil society organisations and state lawmakers.
