22nd March – 28th March
Property developers in Johor expect rental rates within the state to rebound to pre-pandemic levels once land borders between Singapore and Malaysia are reopened. Meanwhile, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the Strata Titles Act 1985 (Act 318) will be amended to address the issue of dilapidated buildings in Malaysia.
1) Johor developers expect rents to rebound with border reopening
Property developers in Johor expect rental rates within the state to rebound to pre-pandemic levels once land borders between Singapore and Malaysia are reopened.
Malaysia and Singapore are set to reopen their borders to fully vaccinated travellers from 1 April, enabling Malaysian workers to revert to their previous practice of commuting from their homes in Johor to their workplace within Singapore, reported The Star.
Law Teck Seng, Deputy General Manager at Seri Alam Properties Sdn Bhd, noted that monthly rent for a shop lot dropped from RM5,000 before the pandemic to RM3,000 during the pandemic.
He also pointed that current room rates for single-storey homes in areas near the Causeway such as Taman Daya, Taman Sri Tebrau and Taman Maju Jaya stands at about RM850.
“Those earning Singapore dollars in the island republic will not have trouble paying their rents as they are more affordable here than across the Causeway,” added Law.
Related article: The Best Neighbourhoods For Living In Johor
2) Strata Titles Act to be amended
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the Strata Titles Act 1985 (Act 318) will be amended to address the issue of dilapidated buildings in Malaysia.
He shared that the amendments would involve procedure to terminate the strata title scheme and consent by unit owners to allow reconstruction of the building, reported Bernama.
And while Malaysia has “no law on it yet”, Reezal noted that many urban renewal programmes have already been implemented since 2000.
“It involves the implementation by the private sector for urban renewal areas to generate appropriate economic returns,” he said.
“For dilapidated buildings or areas that do not bring economic returns to the private sector, then the government can consider a form or method of urban renewal to prevent the area or building from further deteriorating and raising the issue of ‘urban decay’.”
Related article: Strata Title And Individual Title In Malaysia: What Are They?
3) Aspire Residence buyers assured the project would be ready by July 2023
The 558 buyers of Aspire Residence @ Cyberjaya has been assured by the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) that the housing project would be ready by July 2023.
The 1,168-unit project, which has been delayed since 2019, has been categorised as a sick project, reported Bernama. This comes after its contractor, Sterling Prima Sdn Bhd, faced cash flow issues, affecting the construction of Aspire Residence.
KPKT Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican shared that Sterling Prima and SPNB have mutually terminated the project implementation, which means SPNB would take over the project and appoint a new contractor.
Upon visiting the project site, the minister noted that the project’s progress is now at 85%.
“This project has been scheduled to be ready in 16 months and it will be around July 2023 and then handed over to the buyers,” he said.
Related article: How Much Liquidated Ascertained Damages Am I Able To Claim And How Will It Be Calculated?
4) REHDA Institute offers practical solutions to make housing affordable
A report from REHDA Institute offers practical and impactful solutions on how to reduce cost and make housing affordable.
Titled “Housing Forward – Understanding Costs and Sustainable Prices”, the report aims to provide clarity on key issues facing the industry, specifically the impact of compliance costs.
“This research report attempts to look at all the anomalies that we are seeing in the industry, for example, the Bumiputera housing quota and the need for an efficient, transparent and automatic mechanism to release these units into the open market after a period of time,” said REHDA Institute Chairman Datuk Jeffrey Ng Tiong Lip as quoted by Bernama.
He noted that the holding cost on unsold Bumiputera quota units could be “substantial and unproductive to developers”.
With this, Ng hopes the authorities would study first and conduct a cost-benefit analysis before imposing any compliance cost on developers.
“This is because any impact or outcome which requires additional costs that developers cannot absorb will be passed on to buyers,” explained Ng.
Related article: B40 and M40: What Are The Housing Schemes Available For You?
5) Selangor housing board meets weekly to address abandoned projects issue
The Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS) meets weekly in a bid to resolve the abandoned housing project issues facing Selangor.
Previously, such meetings are conducted once every three to four months, said Selangor Housing, Urban Well-being and Entrepreneur Development Committee Chairman Rodziah Ismail.
She explained that the move is aimed at keeping track of proposals or matters “that we have asked certain parties to implement and to ensure these measures are actually carried out”, reported The Star.
Rodziah noted that many such projects in Kuala Langat are related to the original land status as well as changes in the policies of the state government.
Related article: Your Property Developer Abandons The Project: What Can Be Done?
6) DBKL to review building plans, approvals for Taman Bukit Desa housing scheme
A detailed review of the building plans as well as prior approvals issued for a residential development in Taman Bukit Desa, Kuala Lumpur will be conducted by the authorities, after a house owner complained of land encroachment.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will also secure further information regarding the freehold titles for the development from the Lands and Mines Office, reported The Star.
It was previously reported that Datuk Edmund Lim had placed a steel container in the middle of Jalan Taman Bukit Desa, claiming that it forms part of the land he bought four years ago.
He shared that he had his land remeasured by a land surveyor upon noticing that his property is smaller than his neighbours. The result showed that 93.74 sq m of his land was missing and that 1,009 sq ft was now on a public road.
After several failed attempts to seek clarification from DBKL, Lim placed the steel container on the road right in front of his house to get DBKL’s attention.
Image source from: The Star
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