Presenting a paper on "Practical Issues of Gated Development in Malaysia" at the 16th National Real Estate Convention 2005, he notes that the need for better security among residents has increased strongly Grilled entrances and windows are no longer sufficient to ensure safety and it is common for a residential enclave to have security guards usually funded by an informal residents' association to screen traffic and patrol the area.

Tan describes a gated community as an enclave of housing common to a conventional landed development. It is accessible through a single and secured vehicular entrance, where residents fund the provision and maintenance of security services and facilities privately.

Gated communities were once confined to condominium developments but it has now spilled over to landed properties as an added feature to fulfill residents' concerns about security. Over the past two years, developers have been known to include the term "gated" or "guarded" in their advertisements as an additional attraction, Tan says.

Currently the issues encountered by developers looking to build gated communities are largely related to existing legislation such as the National Land Code 1965 and Strata Titles Act, 1985. Tan notes that the National Land Code does not provide for common areas, while roads and open spaces are automatically deemed public spaces. There is also no provision for the creation of management corporations such as those found in condos and high-rise developments.

The Strata Title Act was enacted to subdivide buildings using structural elements of a building to define the boundaries. By default, common areas are created and this legislation provides for its titling and subdivision of services and the formation of a management corporation.

According to Tan, in 2004, the Ministry of Land and Cooperative Development (now the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) proposed the introduction of new laws to govern gated communities. The proposed amendments have yet to materialize but the real estate industry is hoping for strata title that operate in the same manner as land title under the National Land Code, he adds.

Some pioneer gated community developments in Malaysia have resolved issue related to management corporations through the execution of "Deeds of Mutual Covenants between developers, purchasers and the future management, and privatization agreement between developers, Management Corporation and local councils for the maintenance of road and open spaces within common areas.

However, several unresolved issues have been raised over gated communities. These include the public's right to access the are without screening, legal rights of management corporations to the common areas and service charge collection, and how gated development co-exist with proposed new legislation involving strata subdivision, Tan notes.

The amendments to the Strata Titles Act 1996 were to allow the creation of a land strata development and to fulfill the legislative need of a gated community. However, the subdivision procedures only involve subdivision of building and not land.

While the demand for improved security in landed residential areas have prompted the inclusion of gated communities in film and existing housing developments, the lack of appropriate legislation hinders the ability of developers to sell their concepts to the local authorities, says Tan.