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New housing rules to curb property speculation

In a move to further curb property speculation, developers who sell more than four residential units to a single person or a company must now register the purchaser with the housing controller within 14 days of the sale-and-purchase (S&P) agreement being signed.

This new requirement is expected to improve transparency in the housing industry and to keep the prices of houses stable.

A National Housing Department spokesman told theSun the regulation, which was enforced from mid-May, is provided for under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1989.

(The housing controller comes under the National Housing Department of the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry.)

The spokesman said that to further ensure transparency between developers and buyers, all developers must display in detail the selling price, which includes all free offers of goods, services and payments.

“In this way, should a buyer decide not to accept the offers, the developer has to deduct the amount of the value of the special offers from the sales price,” he added.

The spokesman said developers who fail to comply with this regulation would be liable to face court action. The offence provides for a fine of up to RM20,000 or imprisonment of up to five years or both upon conviction.

He also revealed that as of end-April, 117 developers were on the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry’s blacklist for abandoning their projects.

Once blacklisted, the developers and their board members cannot apply for new housing developer’s licences or advertisement and sale permits.

Following amendments to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (Act 118), which would come into effect by the end of this year, licensed developers will be charged if they purposely abandon their projects.

They will be liable to a fine of between RM250,000 and RM500,000 or imprisonment of up to three years, or both if convicted, he added.

However, of the 206 private housing projects declared abandoned between 2009 and April 30 this year, 151 had been successfully revived to benefit 23,942 house buyers while 29 projects are in the planning stage for revival while 26 others are in various stages of recovery.

To help prevent developers from abandoning their projects, he said the department will increase the housing developer’s deposit from RM200,000 to 3% of the estimated cost of construction.

“This will help ensure that only developers with strong financial positions are involved in housing development and there will be sufficient funds to revive a housing project if it is abandoned,” he added.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said as of end-May, the department was also monitoring 209 “sick or ailing” projects. These are projects whose completion dates were more than 30% behind schedule or homes that have not been handed over to the buyers by the dates stipulated in their S&P agreements.

To reduce the number of “sick” or ailing projects, he said the department’s private housing monitoring division would act as a mediator or facilitator for problematic projects.

This will be done by:
> coordinating with the relevant parties to resolve the problems;
> conducting regular checks at project sites;
> strict enforcement through fines and blacklisting of errant developers; and
> close monitoring of the housing development accounts.

He said the department had issued 349 compound notices and collected RM2.3 million in fines from errant developers so far this year.

Source: The Sun Daily

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  1. TuaLamPa
    June 5th, 2014 at 15:58 | #1

    Wah lan eh! More rules? Can enforce or not? Every time rules, rules, rules, but no enforcement!!

  2. Chocolate
    June 5th, 2014 at 16:09 | #2

    Hahah..should ask them to kautim the gangster contractors first.

  3. PP
    June 5th, 2014 at 16:23 | #3

    Useless rules. Do you think developer care about RM20k fine?

  4. TuaLamPa
    June 5th, 2014 at 17:09 | #4

    RM20k sap sap sui to developer, but 5 years imprisonment is quite meaningful. I’d love to see a developer end up in jail…..:)

  5. Pom
    June 5th, 2014 at 17:21 | #5

    Chocolate :Hahah..should ask them to kautim the gangster contractors first.

    I like this very much…but our local state government are unable to kautim those gangster contractor. All empty promises from the politician. Talk about blacklist developer who go hand in hand with GC, but those developers still roam around like nothing happen. Total dissapointment only.

  6. Spiderman
    June 5th, 2014 at 17:23 | #6

    Ha Ha, 20K fine only, where got pain. Developer sold a 500K house can easily paid the fine for 25 times already !!.
    Ha, ha, 250K to 500K fine for abondon project only, where got pain. Fine lah 30 to 50% for project GDV (gross development value), then only serious ma.
    Take so long to ammend the laws, but just ammend a bit no pain one nia. sigh.
    No wonder now any Tom, Dick and Harry companies can be n want to be developers.

  7. Waiting
    June 5th, 2014 at 20:14 | #7

    @Pom

    Please name the projects or developers who go hand in hand with GC.

  8. trac
    June 5th, 2014 at 22:09 | #8

    Sendiri talk sendiri song…

  9. aroi-kap
    June 6th, 2014 at 09:34 | #9

    @Waiting

    Almost every condo / apartment / low-mid cost project (value < RM1 million) is having this gangster contractor issue

  10. Waiting
    June 6th, 2014 at 09:45 | #10

    @aroi-kap

    Just name the developer or gangster’s identity.

  11. joe
    June 6th, 2014 at 10:23 | #11

    i think it depends on the location and the developer whether they are reputable or not.

  12. PP
    June 6th, 2014 at 10:33 | #12

    @joe

    Reputable developer has equally reputable GC? lol..

  13. Pom
    June 6th, 2014 at 11:17 | #13

    @Waiting
    Go find out yourself.. its all over penang..
    For sure they are operating in farlim, relau, sg.ara…

  14. Toa_Kong
    June 6th, 2014 at 13:54 | #14

    @aroi-kap
    Agreed with “aroi-kap” and “Pom” … pls go and find out yourself … if you don’t know, then it’s meaningless to talk to you …

    (suggestion: maybe you should buy a new property with OC <1 year and use your own renovation contractor, see what will happen next…)

  15. Toa_Kong
    June 6th, 2014 at 13:56 | #15

    @Waiting
    Agreed with “aroi-kap” and “Pom” … pls go and find out yourself … if you don’t know, then it’s meaningless to talk to you …

    (suggestion: maybe you should buy a new property with OC <1 year and use your own renovation contractor, see what will happen next…)

  16. Waiting
    June 6th, 2014 at 14:12 | #16

    @Toa_Kong

    You know a lot then you can tell me or you just hearsay ?

  17. Stania
    June 6th, 2014 at 22:46 | #17

    I highly suspect “waiting” is one of them. His replies like challenge people.. I bet he knows everything and trying to act dumb defending for his illegal rice bowl which is going to “close shop” very soon. The time will come when “waiting” has to wait long long behind bars.

  18. Waiting
    June 7th, 2014 at 01:07 | #18

    @Stania

    Where is the proof ? Don’t try to be smart !!! Just name the developer if not
    you are just “singing”.

  19. Rules No Need
    June 10th, 2014 at 15:39 | #19

    No need for Rules.

    China, Hong Kong and Singapore Property Bubble already Bursting.

    Malaysia is next… All those speculators will be jumping of their over priced now worthless condos. I see a lot of bankrupt speculators in the not so distant future.

  20. Ruler
    June 10th, 2014 at 15:48 | #20

    @Rules No Need

    There’s no harm coming up with systematic rules. At the end of the day, housing has to be regulated, cannot be let run wild, otherwise innocent by-standers would be injured in the line of fire. Unlike stock markets, which is not a necessity, housing is a necessity.

  21. Toa_Kong
    June 17th, 2014 at 11:50 | #21

    @Waiting
    ya agreed with Stania … you might be one of them … Normally those bullies will ask people to name them out when they feel offended …

    To avoid from trouble, better i stop talking with you this kind of bully who likes to challenge ppl… this is my last reply :)

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