Policy for Empty and Abandoned Houses in Rural Areas

Depopulated villages have contributed to the increasing number of empty and abandoned houses in rural areas, which have subsequently causing wasteful use of rural land resources. Having this phenomenon, many countries have undertaken measures to repopulate the rural areas in a way to make it more livable as well as to secure its resources so that the environment, social and economic benefits could be sustained.  In this paper, the policy undertaken by the Malaysian Government to address and overcome the issue of depopulated villages, particularly the empty and abandoned houses in the country is presented. This is done by analyzing secondary data on rural population, rural population issues as presented in past studies besides looking into the respective policy implemented by the responsible rural agencies in the country. Lastly, this paper concludes with recommendations for further policy improvements.