ABANDONED HOUSING PROJECTS IN MALAYSIA: PROPOSAL FOR PROMOTING THE BTS (BUILD THEN SELL) CONCEPT FOR MALAYSIAN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT Zairul M, M.N and Rahinah Ibrahim Department of Architecture, Faculty of Design & Architecture Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia mohdzairulJB@yahoo.com Keywords: Housing, housing finance, affordable quality housing, sustainable development Abstract: The awaited anticipation of home ownership by the middle-income group in Malaysia has been marred by the stigma of abandoned housing developments. Abandoned projects are known to cause environmental degradation since most project sites are stripped of their green covers that cause speedier surface water runoffs into drains and streams. Those projects are becoming significant and are further negating the image of the construction industry in the country. The latest solution that was proposed to overcome this problem is the implementation of the Built then Sell (BTS) concept, which was launched by the Prime Minister in 2004. However, the proposal seems not well received by many developers, including the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA). The purpose of this paper is to propose on the best possible ways to promote the BTS (Build then Sell) concept in Malaysia. Through reports and background problems, we intend to identify key elements in understanding the phenomenon and proposed ways to promote and alleviating this problem through creative financial modeling. We are proposing the inclusion of sustainable elements into the financial model that we believe could provide incentives to housing developers and other stakeholders involved. The paper will compare and analyze existing BTS concepts from the Australia and other country. It will extract the key components and reasoning behind their inclusions so that we can make informed recommendations for BTS implementation in the Malaysian context. The analysis will then guide us in recommending key construct for further integration with the Malaysian Agenda 21 policy. This paper contributes towards the development of a financial model for developing affordable quality housing in Malaysia. 1.0 Introduction The awaited anticipation of home ownership by the middle-income group in Malaysia has been marred by the stigma of abandoned housing developments. In view of the critical need to house people, Scott Leckie in a housing dialogue conducted in Bangkok has outlined as follows; “Housing rights are the collection of human rights concerning how and in which conditions people live. Housing rights are enshrined in law as a means to ensure everyone an adequate, affordable, secure and safe place to live”(2003). Housing rights are widely recognised throughout international human rights law. These same standards are also found increasingly within the domestic laws of countries throughout the world, including many Asian countries inclusive Malaysia.