PENANG has decided to streamline quit rent rates for all schools in the state despite the need to increase revenue from its scarce landbank to boost development.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said that there is a nominal quit rent of RM50 for schools located on land under the Federal Land Commissioner's ownership.
This translates to 106 schools, mostly national - type learning facilities.
While another 201 schools, which sit on non-federal land, the majority of which are vernacular schools, will also only have to pay a nominal rate of RM50 in annual quit rent.
But international schools and private institutions of learning would be exempted from the revised ruling, Chow told a press conference.
Among those present were State Secretary Datuk Seri Zulkifli Long and state land and mines department director Datuk Dr. Faizal Kamarudin.
Penang is digitising land administration through the e-Tanah system to increase efficiency and transparency.
A review of 370,000 land titles is also underway, aiming to increase annual land tax revenue by RM50 million to RM100 million from 2026, including reclassifying some rural land to urban status.
As Penang has not revised its quit rent structure since 1994, Chow hopes that land owners need to understand the need to hike up the rates to meet the present economic needs and challenges.
Penang is also reclaiming up to some 1,000 ha of additional landbank, of which the majority have already been gazetted by the state land administrators.
Chow also pointed out that the First Grade Land Title owners would have to pay higher quit rent because of land conversion from agriculture to industrial or commercial, which means the quit rent by custom would need to be higher.
Last year, the state gazetted that first-grade land would be revised in terms of its quit rent to meet the current economic conditions.
The majority of the landbanks in Penang are now mostly classified as housing, commercial and industrial, with some for agriculture, although the landowners had permitted buildings, trading and commercial activities to take place.
To offset landowners, who are facing difficulty in settling the new quit rent rates, Chow said that the state is committed to offering a 50 per cent rebate.
But the rebate can only be applicable if it is higher than the minimum (ceiling) quit rent rate and cannot be lower than the last year's rate, Chow stressed.
He said that the district land administrators and clerical staffers at the counter have been instructed to help the ratepayers understand the new mechanism and to help clarify if any confusion ensues due to the new quit rent rates.
"Land administrators are allowed to address appeals from landowners of up to RM20,000 in exceptions, but the landowners must provide the evidence to qualify for the discounts," said Chow. - January 22, 2026.
