KK moves against illegal service apartments

The Star 8/9/2005 BY RUBEN SARIO

Kota Kinabalu City Hall is clamping down on condominiums in the state capital that have been converted into service apartments illegally.

Mayor Datuk Illiyas Ibrahim said teams of City Hall enforcement personnel had been heading out to the various condominium complexes from Monday to verify complaints that some of them were being converted into service apartments.

“We will be checking to see if developers or operators of condominiums are strictly complying with our licensing by-laws,” he said after launching the Taman Putera Perdana housing scheme in Telipok, 25km from Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.

Illiyas said that City Hall had approved only one application for the conversion of the Likas Square condominium into service apartments.

He said that developers and operators of condominiums, especially those in the high-end category, were required to apply for a special permit from City Hall to operate service apartments

Applicants are obliged to submit their respective building plans when applying for the permits and approval is issued only with recommendation by the various authorities such as the Fire and Rescue Department.

Recently, some owners and tenants of condominiums urged local authorities to investigate the legal aspects of some neighbouring properties, which were being converted into service apartments.