Frustrations dealing with unscrupulous developers
11/09/2003 NST Z.A.Shah Alam

IT hurts me to see on TV, read in newspapers and to hear from friends and relatives and finally to experience first-hand the painful process of owning a house.
 

The last straw for me was the court's decision in favour of the housing developers recently in matters pertaining to the Housing Tribunal.

I am still waiting for my dream home after I paid 20 per cent of the purchase price and signed the sale and purchase agreement in April 1998. The bank had already released a substantial sum to the housing developer and then the nightmare began.

The house is not completed to date. Every day there are stories about Malaysians being sidelined by the local government authorities, being taken for a ride by unscrupulous housing developers and being pressured by banks to come up with interest payments.

There is this clause in the S&P that states that the house must be completed within 24 months after the S&P agreement and if the developer fails to do so, he has to pay damages of 10 per cent of the purchase price.

The developer had the nerve to offer me 30 per cent of what is due to me under the S&P if I want cash now. The developer's representative added that it would take years to get the full settlement sum.

This is utterly unfair. Obviously since the Housing Tribunal can only hear claims up to RM25,000, hardworking Malaysians like me with claims exceeding RM25,000 are neglected.

We are left at the mercy of the developer and forced to battle the long legal process to claim what is rightly ours and in accordance to the S&P.