THE Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) will soon instantly approve submissions for minor home renovations. 

Subang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng said a booklet containing 16 standard plans was being published and would be available at MPSJ counters for those who wanted to carry out extensions or renovations. 

“Right now, the process for home renovations or extensions is almost similar to that for a high-rise development. I have received numerous complaints from residents in the municipality, who have waited for months to get approvals … people cannot wait that long,’’ added Lee, who said the system was similar to the one adopted by the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) in the early 90s. 

“The MPPJ system is better. There are hardly any complaints from Petaling Jaya residents of their plans for renovations and extensions not being approved,” he said, after attending the Nestle Honey Stars Star Search-Kindergarten Talent Time Com-petition at Wisma Lim Foo Yong in Subang Jaya on Saturday. 

Lee added MPSJ gave its nod to the new system last month. 

“MPSJ is now looking at the implementation of the new system. Once it is implemented, house owners will just have to bring their building plans, fill out the booklet and mark which plan they want and pay the filing fee to get instant approval,” he added. 

Lee, however, said a deposit would still have to paid as it was effective in curbing contractors and home owners from illegally dumping construction debris at open spaces. 

He also revealed that house owners in the Subang municipality had two months to submit their building plans for their illegal extensions before action was taken against them. 

“The problem of illegal extensions is mainly in Puchong and Serdang (both of which were under MPPJ previously). 

“We also had a problem after MPSJ was formed as there were cases of people waiting for nearly three years to get approvals for minor renovations … so they went ahead with it. However, some took advantage of the situation and went overboard,” he said, 

Lee explained that there were cases were some owners had renovated their single-storey homes into double-storey houses. 

“But in the last two months, enforcement officers have been making their rounds and have identified homes with illegal extensions. We have sent out letters to the house owners to submit their plans within two months from the date of receipt of the letter. 

“If their renovations are within our standards, we will approve it. But if it is completely unsuitable, we will fine them 10 times their filing fee,” said Lee, adding that filing fees ranged from RM100 onwards. 

He said MPSJ was serious in addressing the issue of illegal renovations. 
"Some renovations are against fire regulations while others are in violation of building safety", added Lee.