KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 (Bernama) -- The government has no plan to introduce specific laws to control house and property prices in the country, the Dewan Negara was told today.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin said house prices were determined by market forces and this was in line with Malaysia's free economy.

"Although there is no specific act to control the rise in house prices, the government can still implement various control mechanisms to ensure that the increase is reasonable and will not affect the people as a whole," he said.

When answering a question from Senator V. Subramaniam on the matter, Lajim also said that at the moment, it was unnecessary to have a special committee to determine house and shophouse prices.

To ensure that the people were not burdened by the rise of house prices as a result of speculation, the government would continue monitoring the situation and, if necessary, impose additional fiscal measures.

Lajim said mechanisms implemented thus far to control property prices included raising real property gains tax from five to 10 per cent for properties disposed of in less than two years and maintaining a five per cent rate for properties disposed of in a period of between three and five years.

"This tax increase is a move by the government to control the rise in house prices through pressure from speculation," he said.

He also said that the ratio of financing for the purchase of a third house has also been fixed at 70 per cent by Bank Negara to reduce the financial capability of individuals engaged in speculation.

Lajim said the government had also taken steps to ease the difficulty low-income people, especially in urban areas, faced in owning a house.

These included the construction of houses under the People's Housing Programme (PPR), with 85 PPR projects involving 54,215 units built until Dec 31, 2011.

"In addition, the ministry will also build 38,950 more units of PPR during the 10th Malaysia Plan period," he said.