Housing in Brunei

Brunei has four districts and no separate city-level housing system in the reviewed national sources. The 2021 Population and Housing Census recorded 83,810 occupied housing units: 49,872 detached houses, 13,654 terrace houses, 6,285 semi-detached houses, 5,427 flats and 8,662 other units. Owner-occupied homes accounted for 55,064 units, while private individuals provided or rented 11,142 units, government provided 9,903 units and companies or associations provided 7,669 units. Kampong Ayer is a distinct water-village form with houses built on stilts. Private tenants usually arrange housing directly with a landlord or through an agent. A written tenancy agreement should state the rent, term, deposit, repair duties, notice rules, subletting conditions, inventory and meter readings. The landlord's ownership or authority to let the property should be checked. Brunei does not have a central rental register or a generally applicable rent-control or tenant-ombud system evidenced in the reviewed official sources. A residential tenancy instrument with house rent of up to BND 2,000 is stamp-exempt; other lease or tenancy instruments attract duty based on annual rent and term. Ownership transfers are recorded in the Land Code Register. A lawyer can submit an online application using the identity card, land title and current annual land-rent receipt. Transfers involve stamp duty and valuation, while strata transfers use Land Department forms. A strata title, known locally as Hakmilik Strata, gives separate title to a unit and creates duties concerning the management corporation and common property. Land may also carry registered conditions or charges that affect use or transfer. Non-citizens do not have a blanket right to acquire freehold housing. Under the Land Code (Amendment) Order 2025, effective 1 August 2025, their interests are generally limited to an approved mortgage, lease or sublease. Nominee or trust arrangements intended to bypass the rules are invalid. Inherited freehold interests generally require sale to a citizen within 10 years or conversion to lease; former citizens and former permanent residents face the same 10-year sale rule. A stateless person may hold one freehold lot for their own residence. Residential, commercial or integrated leases may run for up to 60 years, while industrial or shop leases may run for up to 30 years, subject to the applicable approval and terms. The Housing Development Department, commonly called Jabatan Kemajuan Perumahan or JKP, administers major public housing pathways. The National Housing Scheme, known as Rancangan Perumahan Negara or RPN and also referred to as Skim Perumahan Negara or SPN, is for citizens who are at least 18 years old, have a dependant and whose household has no land grant or has land that cannot be developed under government criteria. The documented income range is BND 445 to BND 3,030. Applications are made at a counter with identity, marriage or divorce, employment, income or business documents. Allocation depends on application year and completed-unit availability; no acceleration policy was evidenced. Public units are for residence, not business use, lodging or subletting. Written warnings and a reasonable period to remedy a breach may precede further action, while repayment default can lead to a claim against a guarantor. The landless Rakyat Jati pathway, called Skim Tanah Kurnia Rakyat Jati or STKRJ, has documented housing relevance, but current eligibility, availability, repayment and lease terms should be verified with JKP because older programme information may no longer apply. Government quarters are administered by the Public Service Department, or Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA), for eligible public-service grades and employment categories. Occupants must use the quarters privately, maintain cleanliness and safety, and report move-in and utility details. The JPA schedule lists monthly occupant rent of BND 55 to BND 130 and furniture charges of BND 140 to BND 280. JPA may cancel or relocate an allocation with at least one month's notice. An eligible employee who completes a home under a qualifying housing scheme may have to cancel and vacate the quarters. Housing finance is available through licensed banks and finance companies supervised by the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank, or BDCB. Conventional and Islamic financing are available, but approval, rates and repayment terms depend on the institution and applicant. No universal current interest rate was established. A first-home loan including land up to BND 250,000 is stamp-exempt, and mortgage duty is BND 1 per BND 500. Using an institution licensed by BDCB reduces the risk of dealing with an unauthorised provider. New construction and significant alterations require the relevant approval process. A Qualified Person submits through the Authority for Building Control and Construction Industry, known as ABCi. Indicative processing times in the reviewed material are about 14 days for building approval, one day for a permit to start and seven days for an occupation permit or temporary occupation permit after compliance. Fire and Rescue inspection may be required. Occupying a building without the required occupation permit is generally prohibited, so the permit should be checked before moving in or buying. Lease or tenancy duty is calculated per BND 250 of annual rent or part of that amount: BND 1 for a term up to one year, BND 2 for more than one year up to five years, and BND 4 for terms longer than five years or indefinite terms. Transfer and valuation charges, annual land rent, financing, utilities, deposits and repairs are separate costs. A landlord can use distress for rent arrears only through a court writ under the Distress Act, and the process may cover arrears from no more than the previous 12 completed months. The Magistrates' Court handles breach-of-contract claims up to BND 50,000. The Small Claims Tribunal handles claims up to BND 10,000 only within its listed contract, service, property-damage or consumer categories; it is not a general tenancy tribunal. Private termination therefore depends on the agreement and applicable court process, while public-scheme exits usually require the relevant JKP or JPA forms, key surrender and repayment clearance. The Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act, Cap. 259, had not commenced as of August 2026. Advertised developer-licensing or procedure protections based on that Act should therefore not be treated as effective. Before paying a developer or landlord, check the title, registered charges, approvals, occupation permit, written contract, payment trail and the other party's authority. The business-name register, a domain registration and a housing right are separate matters. The reviewed official sources did not establish a current consolidated private-market rent schedule.