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The Housing
Developer Act (Control and License) 1966 (Act118) was enforced on Aug
29, 1969 while the Housing Developers Regulations came into force on
April 1989. Both the act regulations are aimed at safeguards the
interest of house buyers.
However, such
laws are only applicable in Peninsular Malaysia and do not cover housing
development by cooperatives, government agencies and bodies, or
commercial units such as hotels and business premises.
Monitoring
and enforcement of the act is done by the Housing and Local Government
Ministry's Monitoring and Enforcement Division Located on the fourth
floor, Blok K, Pusat Bandar Damansara.
Monitoring
and enforcement are handled by the housing Controller, Housing Inspector
and Officers, who are appointed by the Housing and Local Government
Minister.
The division
conducts regular monitoring to ensure:
- Housing
projects which have been given the Housing Developer's License by the
housing controller are progressing as scheduled, without problems.
The monitoring of
the projects are done through:
- Inspections
and survey reports received from the housing developers. Under the
Housing Developers Act (Control and Licensing) 1966, the developers
must submit progress reports by filling form 7(F) to the Monitoring
and Enforcement Division twice a year.
- Inspections at
the project site, area and office. This covers various aspects such as
advertising, progress of projects, payment and collections of monies
by the housing developer, implementation of the sale and purchase
agreements and other related matters. Developers are not allowed to
amend, insert new clauses or cancel any part of the approval of the
Housing Controller.
- Review of
advertisements published by developers through newspapers, brochure,
advertisement board and other channels to see whether they comply with
the law.
- Monitoring of
projects based on the information and complaints received from the
public through letters, telephone calls, e-mail, whether published or
aired in the mass media.
From the
enforcement aspect, the Monitoring and Enforcement Division will take
the necessary steps, including legal action, against the housing
developers who flout the law.
The
violations can include proceeding with project without having obtained a
valid license and necessary approvals violation of licensing conditions
and failure to properly maintain their Housing Development Accounts.
Those who
proceed with construction activities without a proper license can be
fined RM100,000 or five years imprisonment or both. The same goes for
housing developers who fail to open a Housing Development Account. For
this offence, imprisonment is three years. For
other offence, the housing developer can face up to RM10,000 fine or
three years imprisonment or both depending on the rules they violate.
The Act also
empowers the Minister to direct developers on matters related to save
guarding the interest of house buyers.
The housing
controller can also revoke or suspend the housing developer's license if
he/she regards the offence as endangering the interest the house buyers
or the public.
House buyers
in the meantime are reminded to ensure that housing developers have the
valid licenses and permits to advertise and sell.
They can seek
information from the Monitoring and Enforcement Division by letter or
e-mail to enforcement@kpkt.gov.my.
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