KUALA LUMPUR – The House Buyers Association (HBA) will not prepare its usual Budget wishlist for 2027, saying there is little point in repeating recommendations when many of the issues it has raised over the years have yet to receive the attention they deserve.
In a statement today, HBA said it had traditionally used the Budget process to identify problems affecting homebuyers, propose solutions and highlight areas where Government intervention was needed.
However, it said it had decided to break from that practice this year because it was increasingly concerned that preparing another lengthy wishlist could become little more than a routine exercise.
“For Budget 2027, perhaps HBA should spare everyone the usual exercise because we feel that its mere ‘window dressing’ to appear as if all stakeholders have been consulted,” it said.
HBA said its decision was not because the problems facing homebuyers had disappeared, nor because it had run out of ideas.
Instead, the association said homebuyers still needed protection, while many of the issues it had previously highlighted remained relevant.
It said the decision reflected frustration over having to repeatedly put forward recommendations without seeing sufficient action on longstanding problems.
HBA said its past concerns had covered areas including housing affordability, abandoned and sick housing projects, developer accountability, financing, enforcement and protection for purchasers.
It said it had also consistently called for stronger protection for homebuyers, better enforcement against errant developers, measures to prevent abandoned projects and greater transparency in the housing sector.
The association said it had also maintained that the Government should address existing weaknesses before adding another layer of legislation.
For HBA, the issue was therefore not a shortage of proposals but whether existing recommendations were being acted upon.
The association said it wanted policymakers to listen to problems that had already been identified rather than simply repeat the annual process of collecting wishlists.
It called for greater attention to the concerns raised by homebuyers, consumer organisations, professionals and industry participants offering constructive criticism.
HBA said consultation should also take place before major reforms were introduced, arguing that new legislation and policies should address genuine problems rather than become an end in themselves.
The association stressed that it was not opposed to new laws or policies when they were genuinely necessary.
However, it said reforms should produce meaningful improvements for homebuyers rather than simply add another layer of policy or administration.
For Budget 2027, HBA’s message is therefore less about what it wants added to the Budget and more about what it believes should finally be acted upon.
It said there was no need for another wishlist when the problems were already on the table and the priority should be to address them. – October 6, 2026