Residences in Brunei

Houses in Brunei are generally big as it is common to live together with extended families. However, with modernisation, I find more people moving out to start their own family. There is a small growing number of working youths who have decided to live on their own.

In Brunei, many houses are built under housing schemes which are handled by the Ministry of Development's Housing Development Department. The department deals with three housing schemes; National Housing Schemes (Rancangan Perumahan Negara), Indigenous Landless Schemes and Resettlement Schemes (Rancangan Perpindahan).

Initially, the department started off with the management of the resettlement schemes to shift residents from the water village inland. However, the nature and objective of the department has been revised in the 1980s to include the providing of houses to landless citizens when the Sultan decreed that all his subjects should be provided proper and affordable housing facilities. The land plots or houses are given at a subsidised rate.

Hundreds and thousands of houses are expected to be completed in the years to come under these schemes as announced here, here and here.

Please note that these photos are taken by a friend.

It is part of town planning that the housing area comes with a school (building with the green football field) and a mosque. It is also common in Brunei to be living amongst the forests. Many houses are located next to a patch of forest.


There are different types of houses and land plots given out to the citizens depending on the pre-required conditions.


Another housing area with a white mosque (bottom right)


A cocktail of houses either from the housing scheme or otherwise.






Some people in Brunei still prefers to live in the Water Village (Kampong Ayer) and this one here is a fishing village.