More heritage home owners are selling their properties in Penang, and it’s not just because of beguiling offers from foreign buyers.
Layers of bureaucracy, combined with growing costs, have discouraged many from paying for the upkeep, let alone the restoration, of historic houses in the Malaysian state. Some owners report waiting for two years to obtain government approval for restoration works, according to the Property Development, Construction and Management Committee of the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber’s heritage and tourism spokesperson Michael Geh Thuan Peng chalked up the mass selloffs to heavy conservation red tape. “This is just one of the factors that caused some of these heritage building owners to sell off their inheritance,” he said.
The buyouts, involving mostly Singaporean companies, are occurring despite prohibitive selling values of pre-war properties in Penang, reported Free Malaysia Today. Prices for antique properties in the state start at MYR2 million (USD457,000).
The chamber announced yesterday that it would conduct a study on issues that impact the preservation of heritage buildings in the state, especially in George Town, a former British colonial trading post. Findings of the study will be finalised by January.
A UNESCO world heritage site, George Town is slated to pass new regulation laws that will cap rental rate increases at 200 percent. Commercial tenants have been skipping the city in the past few years due to skyrocketing rents.
George Town World Heritage Inc (GTWHI) launched a pilot case study of the proposed rent regulation laws. The study “will involve going from house to house to get stakeholders’ response to the proposed rent regulation act,” GTWHI general manager Ang Ming Chee said.
This story was originally published on www.property-report.com.
