With the collapse of one of their retention walls in May, residents of Apartment Permai in PJU 3, Petaling Jaya have been living in fear, reported The Star.
This comes as the apartment management does not have enough funds to cover the wall’s estimated repair cost of RM1.5 million. Their insurance claims have also been rejected for lack of supporting documents.
“The damage is worsening day by day and the land is exposed to rain. The residents said when it rains, the water gushes into the exposed soil and they worry the soil beneath their apartment will give way,” said Housing and Urban Living committee chairman Haniza Talha after visiting the site of the collapsed wall at the low and medium cost apartment.
“I am not sure how long the land can be left unattended. The residents claimed the developers told them that the warranty terms have ended.”
However, Haniza said the expiry of the warranty period should not be used by developers to evade responsibility when their project is faced with a landslide or wall collapse.
“The developer received the kebenaran merancang (building plan) and their plan must be safe and suitable for a long time, not just during the warranty period.”
Given the urgency of the case, Haniza plans to ask the state finance committee if the repair cost could be borne by the state first.
“We have to sit down and discuss with the developer, the insurance company and all relevant bodies on this issue. It involves the safety of the residents here,” she said.
Resident Ina Fadzilan revealed that a heavy rain on 30 May caused trees and the wall, stretching around 30m, to collapse.
With about 342 units, the 10-storey apartment is 13 years old.
“It all happened in a minute. We hope for the damage to be repaired soon,” she said.
Image source: The Star
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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