A Systematic Literature Review of Bridging Institutional and Financial Sustainability of Public Housing

Public housing programs in Malaysia play a key role in addressing the housing needs of low-income groups. Despite contributing to social security and community well-being, the public housing sector continues to face major challenges that affect the quality of assets and the lives of residents. This study focuses on three (3) key issues in the Malaysian public housing sector, namely chronic lack of regular maintenance, uncontrolled increase in rent arrears and weaknesses in the institutional structure and coordination of oversight agencies. In many schemes, accumulated debts have reached alarming levels while high maintenance demands have resulted in inadequate repairs, building deterioration, and reduced residents’ well-being. Based on these issues, the main objective of this study is to identify gaps in the enforcement of rent collection policies, analyse the adequacy of the revenue and expenditure structure to ensure maintenance sustainability, and examine the use of financial performance metrics in monitoring and reporting. The methodology used is a systematic and critical literature review, by screening and evaluating sources from academic journals, government reports and international comparative cases from Singapore and Germany published between 2010 and 2024. Reference selection was done based on quality and relevance criteria to ensure in-depth investigation. The results of the literature review reveal critical gaps: weak enforcement of rent collection policies; disproportionate expenditure on ongoing maintenance; and limited use of financial performance metrics. These gaps undermine the agency’s ability to plan and implement long-term financial strategies. The paper concludes that a focus on institutional and financial frameworks is essential to enhance the fiscal resilience of Malaysian public housing. The main contributions of this study include the proposed implementation of a staggered rental scheme, the establishment of a mandatory reserve fund, the formation of an integrated agency governance council, and the use of financial performance-based reporting as well as a future research agenda guideline to develop long-term sustainability monitoring tools.

Public Housing, Financial Sustainability, Public Housing Governance, Maintenance Funding, Rent Arrears, Policy Reform, Institutional Governance

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