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Padawan
Municipal Council Welcomes Bill
11/11/2009
easterntimes.com.my
THE Padawan Municipal Council welcomes the Housing Developers (Control and
Licensing) (Amendment) Bill, 2009, says its Chairman and Batu Kawah
Assemblyman, Tan Joo Phoi.
Participating in a debate on the Bill at the State Legislative Assembly
yesterday, Tan said the Bill would empower the Ministry of Housing to
establish a Tribunal for house purchasers to make claims.
“There were many cases of purchasers making complaints that the developers
had not done a good job. Although the councils has control over the
issuance of Occupation Permit (OP), often these defects only occurred
after the (OP) issuance. The council is therefore handicapped when dealing
with these complaints.
“With the amendment, the council would be able to seek further assistance
from the Ministry of Housing,” he said.
Tan also disclosed that there were a few housing projects abandoned by
irresponsible developers – one at Jalan Tengah in Matang, another at Jalan
Tapang, and one off Jalan Batu Kawa. No OP were issued, and in some cases,
OPs were granted after the purchasers themselves have taken up the
uncompleted works themselves.
“The council received many complaints from the purchasers but managed to
resolve some of the problems at the abandoned projects, and issued Ops to
some of them while reserving the rights to seek recourse against the
developers.
“Who shall the purchasers seek assistance from in cases where the
developer defaulted in delivering the completed houses to them? Who should
be blamed and held responsible?” he asked.
With reference to the Bill, Tan said under Clause 17I.(3) which states
“...a claim shall be filed at any time not later than 12 months from the
date of the issuance of the OP...”, but as stated earlier in some cases,
the developers never applied for any OP and the council couldn’t issue OP
because of non-compliances with the Building Ordinance.
He also asked of the role the council could play to complement the Bill.
“Can the council file claims against a developer who fails to complete the
housing project or make good any defects requested by the council? Very
often, the house purchaser requests for assistance from the council in
dealing with the developer. The Bill does not mention how the council can
assist. The council’s role mentioned in the Bill is only with regards to
the issuance of OPs,” he said.
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