Govt may raise claims ceiling

The Star 3/3/2006

KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry is proposing that the ceiling on claims made at the House Buyers Claims Tribunal be raised from RM25,000 to RM50,000.

Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said this would further protect the rights of the house buyers.

“Even though we have done something major to revamp the Housing Development (Control And Licensing) Act 1966 in 2002, the ministry is still not satisfied as it could still be improved further,” he said after visiting the tribunal at Pusat Bandar Damansara here yesterday.

He said the draft for the amendment of the ceiling on claims had been completed but there were still technical aspects involving other agencies that needed to be looked into.

The amendments would be submitted to the Cabinet later this year, he added.

Ong said 15,698 claims for compensation were registered at the tribunal since its establishment in 2002, of which 93% were non-technical claims.

He said developers in 90% of cases had complied with the decisions of the tribunal.

There were only 1,542 cases, involving 226 developers, where the housebuyers had yet to be paid compensation, he said.

Ong warned developers they could be blacklisted by the ministry and face criminal charges if they do not comply with the decisions. Penalties include a fine of not more than RM5,000, two years' jail or both.

Ong said more than 100 developers had been blacklisted.

He also said the ministry had started its computerised system to monitor projects and check accounts.

He said those who failed to submit progress reports every six months would be fined up to RM50,000, jailed three years or both.

On the build-and-sell concept, Ong said discussions among the agencies involved, including the Attorney-General's Chamber, were on-going.