What Foreign Buyers Can and Cannot Buy — State by State

Most guides give you one number for the whole country. In reality each state sets its own minimum price and its own list of property types foreigners may not buy — and the type restrictions catch more buyers out than the prices do.

Two separate rules, not one

Every state applies a minimum purchase price and, separately, restrictions on property type. A buyer who clears the price and overlooks the type restriction can get a long way into a transaction before discovering the purchase is not permitted. Both need checking.

The type restrictions that matter most

Selangor — strata and landed strata only

The most consequential restriction in the country for buyers of quality homes. Foreign buyers in Selangor may purchase strata and landed strata property, but not standard individual-title landed property. The minimum sits at around RM2 million in Zones 1 and 2 and around RM1 million in Zone 3.

Because Selangor contains much of the Klang Valley's best landed stock — Kota Damansara, Tropicana, Ara Damansara, Saujana, Damansara Perdana, Mutiara Damansara, Aman Suria — this single rule reshapes a foreign buyer's search entirely. The workaround is not a workaround but a filter: look at the landed strata stock within those townships, or look at Kuala Lumpur.

Penang Island — the highest landed threshold

Strata sits around RM1 million but landed subsale is reported at around RM3 million, the steepest landed threshold in Malaysia. Penang Mainland is far more accessible at roughly RM500,000 strata and RM1 million landed.

Johor — terrace exclusions

Johor applies a roughly RM1 million minimum but excludes single-storey and 1.5-storey terraced houses from foreign purchase, regardless of price.

Sarawak — LCDA approval

Both Kuching division and the other divisions require approval from the state land development authority in addition to the price threshold, which adds a distinct approval layer to the usual process.

Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan

Negeri Sembilan places customary (adat) land off-limits. In Terengganu and Kelantan a large share of land is Malay Reserve, which narrows the practical options considerably even though the headline threshold is around RM1 million.

What is off-limits everywhere

• Malay Reserve land
• Customary (adat) land
• Agricultural land, generally
• Low and medium-cost housing
• Bumiputera-reserved units within developments

Why these are different from price thresholds

A price threshold is a floor you can clear with a larger budget. These are ownership restrictions attaching to the land itself, and no budget, visa status or structure clears them. Establish them in your first week.

The approval process

A foreign purchase generally requires state authority consent, applied for by your solicitor after the sale agreement is signed. Build that into your timeline — a foreign purchase takes longer than the three to four months a local freehold transaction typically needs, and leasehold property requires separate state consent on transfer as well, extending it further.

Buying through a Malaysian company

People ask about this constantly. A Malaysian-incorporated company with foreign shareholding is still treated as foreign-controlled for many purposes, restrictions in interest can bar consent, and the structure carries its own tax consequences — including that companies pay Real Property Gains Tax of 10% from the sixth year rather than the 0% available to citizens and permanent residents, and cannot use the individual exemption. It is not a general route around state restrictions and needs proper tax and legal advice specific to your circumstances rather than a rule of thumb.

A practical sequence

1. Decide the state, then check its current threshold and type restrictions
2. Confirm the specific property's title type in writing — individual, strata or landed strata
3. Have your solicitor confirm there is no reserve, customary or Bumi status
4. Check for restrictions in interest, which affect consent
5. Budget the extra time for state consent before planning your move

How Ken helps

Ken works with foreign buyers across KL and Selangor and screens stock for what a non-citizen can actually purchase before showing it. That saves the most common and most frustrating experience in this market — finding the right home and then learning it is not available to you.