Foreigners Buying Residential Property in Peninsular Malaysia: State-by-State Minimum Prices, Restrictions and Consent Rules

There is no single “foreigners can buy property above RM1 million” rule for Peninsular Malaysia.

A foreign purchaser may face a different minimum price in Johor from Selangor, a different landed-versus-strata rule in Penang, a restricted secondary market in Melaka, or a State consent framework whose current minimum price is not safely stated in the available official source.

The practical rule is therefore simple: identify the State, the exact property type and the current foreign-acquisition policy before paying a booking fee.

This guide compares the residential position across Peninsular Malaysia. It also distinguishes between rules verified from current State material and older practitioner-reference figures that should be reconfirmed before a transaction is committed.

Why the rules differ from State to State

For Peninsular Malaysia, the National Land Code contains the statutory framework restricting acquisitions by non-citizens and foreign companies. State Authority approval sits within that framework.

But the Code is not a nationwide price list.

The States and Federal Territories apply their own acquisition policies, control prices, property-category restrictions, quotas, approval procedures and charges. That is why a price that works in one State may fail in another.

It is also why an MM2H participant should not assume the minimum value under the MM2H programme is the same as the minimum price at which the chosen State allows a foreign purchaser to acquire that home. We explain that distinction separately in MM2H Minimum Property Price vs State Foreign-Buyer Threshold: Which Rule Actually Applies?.

State-by-state residential comparison

The table below is deliberately not presented as a timeless nationwide tariff. The final column tells you how strongly the stated position is supported as at 21 August 2026.

Johor: RM1 million is only the beginning of the check

Johor is one of the clearer current jurisdictions in the research set.

The official PTG Johor foreign-acquisition material states a minimum of RM1 million and above for residential property for both direct purchases from developers and subsale transactions.

But price is only one filter.

Foreign interests are excluded from a list of categories that includes low-cost and low-medium-cost units, single-storey and one-and-a-half-storey terrace residential property, Bumiputera quota property unless released, Malay Reserve land and certain court-sale or auction property.

Johor also imposes a substantial approval levy. Under the current PTG fee material, residential and commercial acquisitions attract 3% of the relevant property value subject to a minimum RM30,000 per title, in addition to the application fee and any separate title-restriction or registration charges that apply.

So “RM1 million or above” is not a complete cost or eligibility answer.

Selangor: you need the district before you know the minimum

Selangor demonstrates why a single nationwide table can be misleading.

The recorded residential policy separates the State into three zones:

• Zone 1: Petaling, Gombak, Hulu Langat, Sepang and Klang — RM2 million.

• Zone 2: Kuala Selangor and Kuala Langat — RM2 million.

• Zone 3: Hulu Selangor and Sabak Bernam — RM1 million.

More importantly, the recorded foreign-acquisition policy generally limits foreign purchasers to strata and landed-strata titled property rather than landed individual titles.

That means a RM3 million landed house can still be the wrong property for a foreign purchaser even though it is comfortably above the headline minimum.

Penang: island versus mainland changes the answer

Penang has one of the clearest geographic splits.

For a foreign individual under the current guideline retained in the research set:

• Penang Island strata: RM1 million.

• Seberang Perai strata: RM500,000.

• Penang Island landed, including landed strata: RM3 million.

• Seberang Perai landed: RM1 million.

The guideline also requires the State-consent application to be made through a lawyer.

Penang is a good example of why old online articles need care. The State ran a temporary 2024 property stimulus policy. PTG Penang later confirmed that it ended on 31 December 2024 and that the normal control prices resumed on 1 January 2025.

A page written during the temporary programme can therefore look authoritative and still quote a threshold that no longer applies.

Melaka: the secondary market restriction can matter more than the price

Melaka's general foreign-acquisition policy states a control price of RM500,000 for strata property and above RM1 million for landed property, including landed strata.

But the most important rule for many buyers is not the amount.

The recorded State policy materially restricts subsale acquisitions. A foreign purchaser cannot simply select any qualifying local-owned subsale property. The secondary-market route is generally limited to property already owned by a foreigner or to units coming from a project's remaining approved foreign quota.

The policy also imposes a five-year restriction on transfer or lease under the general foreign-acquisition regime, supported by a Registrar's caveat for 60 months.

For a buyer who expects to resell quickly, that can be more important than whether the initial purchase price clears the threshold.

Perlis: a current fee rule does not necessarily tell you the current control price

Perlis is a useful example of source discipline.

The Kaedah-Kaedah Tanah Perlis 2024 are current gazetted rules and expressly prescribe charges for foreign acquisition. For residential property, they provide for a RM500 application fee per title and a separate ownership fee of 5% of the JPPH valuation.

But those Rules do not set the residential control price.

An older Malaysian Bar reference table reported RM500,000. That figure is useful as a research lead, but the current official source reviewed does not establish that it remains the operative 2026 minimum.

The correct advice is therefore not “Perlis is definitely RM500,000”. It is “the recorded earlier reference was RM500,000; obtain current State confirmation for the proposed property”.

What about Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Terengganu?

The Malaysian Bar's Circular No. 444/2024 is unusually useful because it compiled a State-by-State table of foreign-acquisition thresholds as at October 2024.

It reported:

• Kedah — RM1 million residential.

• Kelantan — RM500,000 residential.

• Negeri Sembilan — RM600,000 strata and RM1 million landed / landed-strata.

• Pahang — RM1 million residential.

• Terengganu — RM1 million residential.

But the Circular itself warns that its table is informational, not comprehensive or authoritative, and tells practitioners to verify changes with the relevant State authority.

By August 2026, that table is nearly two years old.

It is therefore useful for deciding what to investigate, but not enough by itself for a purchaser to release a deposit.

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are not Selangor

Foreign buyers frequently treat the Klang Valley as if it were one land jurisdiction.

It is not.

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are Federal Territories. Their land administration and decision-making structure differs from Selangor.

The October 2024 Malaysian Bar table recorded RM1 million for residential property in the Federal Territories grouping. The research set also confirms that Kuala Lumpur operates a specific foreign-acquisition application through the Federal Territory land office.

However, Putrajaya has its own recorded policy update on foreign ownership. A buyer should therefore not take a Kuala Lumpur figure and apply it automatically to Putrajaya.

If you are under MM2H, which threshold applies?

Both layers matter.

The Federal MM2H programme currently sets minimum residence values of RM2 million for Platinum, RM1 million for Gold and RM600,000 for Silver.

A State can still impose a higher foreign-purchaser threshold or restrict the property category.

So a Silver participant does not acquire a universal right to purchase any RM600,000 home in Peninsular Malaysia.

The practical purchase floor is the amount that satisfies the MM2H condition and the State rule for the actual property, together with any property-type restrictions.

For the detailed comparison, see our MM2H minimum versus State foreign-buyer threshold guide.

What should a foreign buyer verify before paying the booking fee?

Before funds are committed, identify at least:

• the State or Federal Territory;

• the district or zone where the State uses one;

• the exact title type — landed individual, landed strata or ordinary strata;

• whether the property is developer stock or subsale;

• the current minimum price for that category;

• whether the property belongs to a prohibited or quota-controlled category;

• whether State Authority or delegated foreign-acquisition consent is required;

• the application fee, levy or other State charge;

• the expected approval sequence;

• what the booking document and SPA say happens if approval is refused.

That last point is the commercial reason to check early. A legal prohibition may stop the transaction, but it does not automatically answer whether a poorly drafted booking fee is refundable.

For the pre-signing transaction checklist, see Buying a Home Under MM2H: What to Check Before Paying the Booking Fee or Signing the SPA. The property-type issues are covered separately in Can an MM2H Participant Buy a Subsale, Landed or Strata Home in Malaysia?.

Why the State table should never be the only legal check

A State minimum is a screening rule, not a legal opinion on the property.

The title can contain restrictions. The project may contain quota-controlled units. The State may change its policy or introduce a temporary programme. The property may be in a category that foreigners cannot acquire regardless of price.

For the broader regulatory framework, including State consent and EPU, see Foreign Ownership of Malaysian Property: State Consent, EPU Approval and Real Costs.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every transaction and every set of facts is different. Obtain specific advice from a qualified adviser before acting on any part of it.

If you have identified a Malaysian home and need to know whether you can legally acquire it before paying a booking fee or signing the SPA, Legal That Works can review the current State foreign-ownership rules, title restrictions and consent position for that specific property. See our Foreign Ownership and State Consent Advisory service.