Veteran property consultant Ernest Cheong believes a public sex offender registry could result to a decline in property value, especially in areas where a registered sex offender resides.
In fact, the knowledge that a sex offender lives within an area could prove to be very stressful, particularly for single women living alone or families with young children, said the property consultant of over 40 years.
Legally, a person has the constitutional right to own, rent or purchase a property.
“This includes people with prior criminal records, as long as they have already ‘paid’ for their crimes by serving the prison sentences imposed by the courts,” said Cheong.
“It is up to a property owner or landlord to sell or rent his property to whoever he or she wishes. No neighbour or management body can stop any owner from selling or renting out a property to anyone.”
However, a sex offender registry could lead to a fall in property values within an area, on the back of news that a sex offender lives or has acquired a property there, warned Cheong, who likened the impact of a sex offender registry to the United Kingdom’s “white flight” phenomenon.
The phenomenon refers to the exodus of white, middle-class families from a certain area to avoid the influx of minorities.
“So when home owners know a registered sex offender has moved into a neighbourhood, they will move elsewhere…Their property will likely be sold or rented at lower rates as others would not want to stay next to a sex offender,” he said.
Nonetheless, Cheong acknowledges the importance of a sex offender registry as it raises awareness among the residents of the presence of a sex offender within their neighbourhood.
Calls to set up a sex offender registry in Malaysia is reignited every time a high profile sexual offence is reported. Deputy home minister Nur Jazlan Mohamad is the most recent to make such calls, saying that said registry is “very much needed” in the country.
This article first appeared in Free Malaysia Today
Diane Foo Eu Lynn, Senior Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email diane@propertyguru.com.my
