‘PPR dwellers can appeal against eviction’
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government is willing to meet Padang Tembak People’s Housing Project (PPR) residents, who are facing eviction, although chances of their pleas being accepted are slim.
State Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said this was because the residents did not meet the requirements set by the Housing Department in order to continue renting their house.
“The residents may put in their appeal and we are willing to meet them.
“The Housing Department will arrange for a meeting.
“However, the department has met them in previous occasions.
“We are going to be firm.
“Some of the residents are subletting their unit to others. This is not right.
“I have 1,662 applications for a home.
“We have to take action against residents who have breached the terms of their agreement.
“It is not personal, we are just following procedures,” he said here yesterday.
A group of residents yesterday handed over a memorandum calling for Jagdeep to consider their pleas as they would be homeless in less than one week.
It is learnt that some have not been paying their rent or maintenance fees, hence the department had to take action by locking their units.
Jagdeep said there were 327 cases of tenants with rent arrears statewide.
He said there was an outstanding of RM17.4 million in arrears for maintenance charges up to last month.
The state government had forked out RM30.6 million since 2010 to cover these charges.