New houses
cracking up 01/12/1998 MM
WHEN a group of house buyers bought units in a housing scheme, they thought
they were getting new homes with nothing to worry about. More than three years
later, however, they find their new houses are anything but problem-free.
Families told
to vacate their homes 02/12/1998 NST
IPOH, Tues. - The 21 families at Taman Chandan Desa, whose houses are located
adjacent to a limestone hill, were issued notices yesterday to vacate their
homes within two weeks. The limestone hill has been declared unstable by the
Geological Survey Department and is in danger of collapsing.
Move from danger
zone, families urged 03/12/1998 NST
IPOH, Wed. - Menteri Besar Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib today advised the 21 families
in Taman Chandan Desa whose houses are found no longer suitable for occupation
to move out for their own safety. He said the families who had been served
notices by the Ipoh City Council to comply with the notice and vacate their
houses as this was the best solution to avoid injury or loss of life.
Builders to
be told to hand out guides 03/12/1998 BT
DEVELOPERS will be compelled to distribute a buyer's guide drawn up by the
Housing and Local Government Ministry to ensure people know their rights when
buying houses. Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Ting Chew Peh
said the "Guide For House Buyers" pamphlets will be given to developers when
they collect their sales and advertising permits.
`Act doesn't
cover unlicensed developers' 03/12/1998 NST
KUALA LUMPUR, Wed. - Companies which receive deposits or booking fees from
house buyers without possessing a developer's licence cannot be charged with
flouting the Housing Developers Act 1966. Announcing this today, Housing and
Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Ting Chew Peh explained that under the
law, action could only be taken against companies issued with a developer's
licence.
Residents in
landslide area safe for now 03/12/1998 NST
PENANG, Tues. - Residents of buildings in the vicinity of last Saturday's
landslide in Paya Terubong have been assured by the authorities that their
homes are safe for the moment. The State-level Sun Moon City Action Committee
chairman Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahaya today said if the boulders located above where
the landslide occured needed to be blasted, it would only be carried out next
week.
House buyers
rally to face developer 05/12/1998 MM
CALLS to house buyers by the Taman Samudra Phase 2B action committee to join
the quest for improvement to their houses and payment for late delivery received
encouraging response. Action committee spokesman Saifuddin Abdullah said 15
buyers have registered
Putting a stop to activities of bogus developers 06/12/1998
NST By Shaik Osman Majid
Buying a house was a nightmare for many in the past. Looming large over the
housing scene was the spectre that the developer might be a conman out to
exploit the long queues of housebuyers. Many buyers discovered that the 'developers'
were no more than enterprising cheats, without land, approved plans or permits
to put up houses. Yet, they had manner of schemes to collect as much as they
could in lucrative booking fees, absconding before the law could catch up
with them.
State Government
needs to do more 07/12/1998 NST-LTIMES
IT was bound to happen. And it happened. Fortunately, however, no one was
killed when rocks and mud crashed down from Bukit Awana onto the housing estates
below on Nov 28. A landslide let loose a massive boulder the size of a double-storey
house, smaller rocks and mud onto the area around the Sun Moon City, Bukit
Awana and Saujana housing schemes.
RM4bn worth
of Bumi houses unsold nationwide 08/12/1998 BT
COMPLETED houses of various types worth RM4 billion meant for Bumiputera ownership
are left unsold nation-wide, the Dewan Negara was told during question time
yesterday. Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Azmi Khalid
said the units were not taken up mainly because they were costly for Bumiputera.
Rumah Bumiputera
tidak dibeli RM4 bilion 08/12/1998 BH
NILAI rumah kuota Bumiputera pelbagai jenis yang tidak dapat dijual di seluruh
negara kini berjumlah RM4 bilion. Timbalan Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan
Tempatan, Datuk Azmi Khalid, berkata harga yang tinggi adalah faktor utama
rumah berkenaan tidak dapat dijual.
Appointing
strata ownership commissioner 08/12/1998 NST
THE Strata Titles Act 1985 will be amended to enable the appointment of a
strata ownership commissioner whose responsibility includes ensuring all apartment
and condomin ium tenants pay their maintenance charges. Deputy Housing and
Local Government Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday,
a study had been undertaken by the Land and Co-operative Development Ministry
to make failure to pay maintenance charges an offence under the Act.
Low-cost flats
dispute: State Exco steps in 12/12/1998 NST
KUANTAN, Fri. - The State Government has agreed to mediate a dispute between
a group of low-cost flat buyers in Alor Akar and the developer over the price
of the units. Malaysian Building Society Bhd had offered to sell the flats
to the 192 tenants at RM32,500.
Residents want
halt to development at reserve 13/12/1998 NSUNT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - Residents from 10 housing estates around the Cheras area
today called on the Federal and State governments to stop development at the
Bukit Sungai Puteh Forest Reserve. They said the forest reserve was the last
green lung in Cheras and rich in biodiversity.
Taman Samudra
folk to seek redress 17/12/1998 MM
THE Taman Samudra Phase 2B House Owners action committee is writing to house-buyers
informing them of their right to purchaser liquidated damages or late delivery
compensation. Action committee spokesman Saifuddin Abdullah said the committee
decided on this as it felt it would be better to split their effort to seek
redress for their problems into two parts
647 pembeli rumah lega
17/12/1998
HM
SUNGAI PETANI: Seramai 647 pembeli rumah teres kos rendah Taman Seri Gedung,
di sini yang terbengkalai sejak 1988 lalu kini boleh menarik nafas lega apabila
projek perumahan itu akan dibaik pulih mulai awal tahun depan.
Pembeli diminta hubungi pemaju
18/12/1998 BH
SUNGAI PETANI, Khamis - Pembeli rumah teres Taman Seri Gedung di sini yang
terbengkalai sejak 10 tahun lalu diminta menghubungi syarikat yang mengendalikan
kerja pemulihan projek perumahan itu segera bagi menyelesaikan masalah hak
milik. Taman itu yang mengandungi 647 unit rumah kos rendah kini dalam proses
dipulihkan sepenuhnya melalui projek pemulihan oleh syarikat Gedung Corporation
Sdn Bhd setelah diberikan kelulusan oleh kerajaan negeri.
Owners of condos
in a dilemma 18/12/1998 MM
IT was like a dream that did not come true! Buyers were told the units would
include "a comprehensive array of ambassador-class facilities" and "hallmarks
of international class".
Blacklist for
house builders who disregard S and P agreement 19/12/1998
BT
HOUSING developers that fail to complete their projects according to schedule
in the sale and purchase agreement with buyers will be blacklisted by the
Housing and Local Government Ministry. Deputy Housing and Local Government
Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid said the Government, despite encouraging house
purchases in the current home ownership campaign, would not compromise on
various aspects concerning the houses
New guidelines
for developers 19/12/1998 NST
KLANG, Fri. - The Housing and Local Government Ministry has issued new guidelines
to all housing developers on providing written information on their projects
and companies' performance to prospective buyers. The guidelines are to safeguard
the interest of buyers and ensure they are better informed about the property.
Deprived of
late-delivery fee 19/12/1998 MM
HOUSING developers can get away with a lot of things. They can even deliver
houses late and not have to pay compensation to buyers, and it is all legal!
A buyer of a double-storey terrace house in Bukit Beruntung had such a bitter
experience when he wrote to the developer, Europlus Corporation, demanding
the purchase liquidated damages or late-delivery compensation.
Metrolux launches
first `zero-defect' housing project 19/12/1998 NST
KUALA LUMPUR, Fri. - Metrolux Sdn Bhd, which secured the sale of 40 units
of its Tropicana Villa estate under the Home Ownership Campaign, today launched
the development as the first "zero-defect" housing project in Malaysia. The
zero-defect guarantee, which ensures that the homes would be free from defects
once the owner takes possession, is part of the company's customer satisfaction
and protection programme called "The Sri Hartamas Promise".
No end to problems
22/12/1998 MM
WE can't take this anymore! This is what some 400 apartment dwellers in Pandan
Perdana want their developer and maintenance company to know.
Call for change
in concept to ease consumers' burden 23/12/1998 NST
KUALA LUMPUR, Tues. - The National Consumer Advisory Council has called on
the Government to change the "sell and build" housing development concept
in the country to a fairer "build and sell" concept. President of the Federations
of Malaysian Consumer Associations Professor Hamdan Adnan who is also a member
of the council said that housing problems were the top consumer complaints
over the years.
Check on condo
problems 23/12/1998 MM
THE developer of the 22-storey Pandan Heights condominiums will carry out
a unit-to-unit inspection to check on complaints by residents unhappy with
their units and maintenance service. Larut Consolidated Bhd's public relations
executive Azahan Ahmad Lahury gave the assurance yesterday after The Malay
Mail highlighted the numerous grouses of the residents.
Pitfalls of
owning a house 26/12/1998 NST-LTIMES
I KNOW now what it feels to have something and yet not quite have it. And,
even as I am happy that with the Home Ownership Campaign more Malaysians will
be owning their own homes, I worry. For just as I am about to move in to my
brand new home, it already needs massive repair jobs. For one, the walls of
almost the entire house need replastering (for the second time), the pipes
from the kitchen sink are clogged, the ceiling of the study is stained with
the leak from the upstairs bathroom and cracks are beginning to appear. And
I worry that this is only the beginning!
Builders mull
creation of special trust accounts 26/12/1998 BT
BUILDING contractors are considering the setting up of special trust account
to ensure that they are paid for work done if their client goes bankrupt.
In a paper published in the Surveyor, Mohd Norazman Zaini, a consultant for
James R. Knowles (M) Sdn Bhd said the uncertainties of the present economic
climate post real worries among contractors over whether they can still get
paid if their clients become insolvent.
Plan to be
a top developer 28/12/1998 BT
SRI Hartamas Bhd aims to be a leading property developer in the country by
continuously delivering quality products in the medium term, while pursuing
its social agenda of being a responsible and caring developer in the longer.
Chairman Wong Hock Seng says in his annual statement that the group will continuously
seek excellence through innovation and customer service
Developer pledges
new standards 31/12/1998 MM
THEY say promises are meant to be broken but not so for Sri Hartamas Berhad,
the developer of Tropicana Villa homes in Bukit Antarabangsa. It has come
out with `The Sri Hartamas Promise' - a comprehensive plan to set a new standard
in terms of customer satisfaction, building and construction excellence for
new projects to be launched by the company
Relocation
compensation 31/12/1998 BT
THE Perak State Govermment has offered compensation of between RM400 and RM1,900
to the 21 families in Taman Chandan Desa, near Ipoh, to move out. Cracks which
have developed in the nearby limestone hill threaten the safety of the residents
of the housing estate. Deputy state secretary (development division) Dr Ahmad
Salludin Yeop Mat Dali said compensation of RM1,900 per family has been offered
to the 18 families who own and occupy their units. Three more who own but
rent out the units have been offered RM1,500 per family in compensation, and
the three families renting the units have been offered RM400 per family. -
Bernama
