National Resettlement Scheme

Public housing in Brunei comprises government development programmes which aim to provide ownership of land or homes to the citizens of Brunei. They are managed by the Housing Development Department (Malay: Jabatan Kemajuan Perumahan), a government department under the Ministry of Development. There has been three main public housing programmes in the country, namely the National Housing Scheme (Malay: Rancangan Perumahan Negara), the Landless Indigenous Citizens' Housing Scheme (Malay: Skim Tanah Kurnia Rakyat Jati) and the National Resettlement Scheme (Malay: Rancangan Perpindahan Negara).

Public housing was first initiated in the 1950s by the government in the form of mass resettlement programmes for the residents of Kampong Ayer, the stilt settlement on the Brunei River. In that decade there were cholera and smallpox epidemics which greatly affected the residents; at that time more residents settled along the banks than the middle of the river and hence more prone to the diseases. Therefore, the initial aim of the housing programme was to relocate the residents to places on land which are less susceptible to the spread of the diseases.

However, the programme eventually shifted its aim to allow the Kampong Ayer residents in owning a home on land. The first resettlement programme was carried out in 1952 in which a housing estate was developed in Bunut. There were then succession of resettlement programmes in the following few decades, and subsequently various resettlement estates appeared which are all located in Brunei-Muara District.

In the 1970s, the government conducted analysis on the housing demands in the country and eventually came up with the present housing programmes.Lambak Kanan became the first area to be developed as the estate of Rancangan Perumahan Negara beginning in 1984.

Although there has been three main housing development programmes conducted by the government, only two are currently pursued, namely the National Housing Scheme and the Landless Indigenous Citizens' Housing Scheme.

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