In a bid to empower property owners to enter into an en bloc sale process, the Department of Director General of Land and Mines (JKPTG) under the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is looking at ways to facilitate strata property redevelopments or renewals in the country, reported The Edge.
This comes as feedback from an online survey conducted by the department in January showed that 73.7 percent of the respondents believe that something should be done to “effectively, efficiently and inclusively redevelop old areas including privately-owned multi-unit strata-titled housing to achieve the high densities needed to accommodate growing populations without exacerbating social inequalities and collateral social disruption”.
With this, a task force – comprising various stakeholders including financial institutions and property consultants – had been created in 2017 to come up with proposals that would ensure the redevelopment process could be efficiently implemented, Department Director-General Datuk Seri Dr Sallehuddin Ishak said.
He revealed that the task force’s final proposal will have to pass through the Cabinet and the National Land Council before it is tabled in Parliament.
“For now, the initial suggestion is to first have a simple majority of 51 percent of owners to consent to a strata renewal. We will then hear out the redevelopment plan submitted by the public or property developer. External valuers could be hired to assess the redevelopment plan,” he said.
“After that, we may proceed to a second voting session, which may require between 70 percent and 85 percent majority consent — we have yet to decide on the percentage.”
A tribunal for strata renewal schemes will also be established, added Sallehuddin.
“If the dispute cannot be settled at the tribunal, it will be brought to court and the court will have the final say.”
He explained that only en masse sale is viable here in Malaysia since there is no legal provision for the collective sale of strata properties. Unlike in Singapore where properties aged 10 years and above need only 80 percent consent of its owners before it can be sold, a deal cannot go through in Malaysia if a single owner opposes the sale.
“Based on existing laws, the consent of all owners is required to allow redevelopment. This requirement makes it enormously difficult for renewal to occur and sets up a tension between what some consider as the democratic right of the majority, and the rights of the individual,” said Sallehuddin.
“In this light, the task force has a huge responsibility in drawing up the regulations and process that would work best, with both the development and homeowners’ rights in mind…Our research is still at an early stage, so we are open to ideas and inspiring interventions,” he added.
Image sourced from EdgeProp.my
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