Temporary CFs
to be abolished
05/09/1999
NST By Trina Thomas Raj
Kuala Lumpur: The temporary Certificate of Fitness will be abolished
when the Uniform Building By-laws 1984 is amended in June for
implementation by the end of the year.
Housing and Local Government Deputy Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid said
today the temporary CF has not helped the construction industry in
any way.
"However, developers who currently possess temporary CF for their
projects will not be affected by the amendment," he said, adding
that they would be dealt with separately.
Last month, the Cabinet agreed to amend the by-laws to speed up the
CF approval process.
A meeting with the National Council of Local Governments, which
comprises Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers, will be held in June.
If the council approved the amendment, it would take effect soon
after, he said.
"We are hopeful that it will be implemented by the end of this year
at the latest," he added.
Azmi was speaking at a Press conference after officiating at the
property forum on "Build and Sell Versus Sell and Build" organised
by the Fiabci Malaysian Chapter.
Developers will be able to obtain CFs for housing projects within
two weeks when the bylaws are amended.
Azmi said the amendment will make way for a more efficient process
of obtaining CFs and protecting house buyers.
With the amendment in place, landed property developers will have to
obtain the CFs within 24 months of commencement of the project while
multi-tired developers will have 36 months.
This is in line with the Hire and Purchase Act which states that
developers have 24 months to deliver houses to respective buyers and
36 months for multi-tiered and flats.
"Therefore, buyers can move into their homes as soon as they receive
the keys from the developers."
At present, developers can apply for CF before technical aspects of
their project are approved by the various departments.
They can also hand over the keys to buyers before obtaining the CF.
"This practice puts buyers at the mercy of developers because they
cannot move into their new lodgings without the CF.
"They also have a year from the time they receive their keys to ask
developers to rectify any problems with the premises such as leaking
pipes, cracks on the wall and so on.
"However, if the buyers cannot move into their houses, how are they
suppose to know the defects in their new homes?" he added.
The amendments will make CF applications stricter and fairer for
buyers, Azmi said.
The proposed amendments also require that all technical aspects be
approved by the various departments involved before the developer
applies for the CF.
"As such, developers will be responsible for obtaining approval for
technical aspects before applying for the CF.
"After obtaining approvals from the relevant departments, the
developer can apply for the CF and receive approval within two
weeks," he added.
The amendment's main objective is to ensure developers are more
responsible for their projects as current laws seem to "favour"
them. |
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