Ever so often, when developers fail to complete their projects on time, they devise ways and means to avoid paying compensation for late delivery or liquidated ascertained damages (LAD) to their house buyers. 

A day after the tragedy, the UK government announced that a public inquiry into the incident would be held. Phase One of the inquiry, released in October 2019, reportedly found “systemic failures” in the London Fire Brigade’s response. Phase Two, now ongoing, examines in-depth, among others, the building’s refurbishment and external cladding, testing and certification of products and fire risk assessments.

With the business model being disrupted by the usage of technologies, how will property agents navigate the scene? Will they be enabled by technologies in their way of doing business or will they be displaced by technologies? 

While the move to provide legislated protection to both landlords and tenants is a progressive and noble one, the what and how of it need to be clear and convincing lest it winds up being an exercise in futility. 

The proposed Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) has been a hot topic of discussion since the year 2020 – which is unsurprising as Malaysia has never had any specific laws or acts governing landlords and tenants. The RTA is set to be tabled in the Parliament in Q1 2022 and the Malaysian government has been seeking feedback for the proposed enactment of the RTA through a one-month public consultation undertaken by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT).

Under the current act, which is to be read together with the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (HDR 1989), the developer is supposed to conduct the delivery of VP of the completed property to the purchasers with water and electricity supply ‘ready for connection’. 

The Court of Appeal ruled that the Minister of Housing and Local Government is empowered to modify a housing contract to extend the time period for a developer to deliver vacant possession of a housing parcel to a purchaser.

The current Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Act, 1966 (HDA) was revamped on June 1, 2015, to plug some of its loopholes, rectified inadequacies and even some questionable and grey clauses that existed in the original Act

Last week, I presented the National House Buyers Association (HBA)’s: ‘tick where applicable” checklist to our newly minted Minister of Housing & Local Government, YB Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican in my article published on Dec 11, 2021 entitled: ‘If I were the Housing Minister”

C&W expects the Asia Pacific economy to regain its position as the highest-growth economy with an expected 4.5% real average annual GDP and total regional investment volume next year is expected to be on par with the 2019 peak at around US$180 billion ($245.6 billion).