Builders responsible for getting strata titles

NST 09/05/2003

The Land and Co-operative Development and Housing and Local Government ministries will jointly submit submit proposals on when high-rise building developers should settle the surveyor's fee to the Land Office and apply for strata titles.

The newly-formed committee by the two ministries, which has held six meetings with local authorities to date, has proposed three levels at which developers should file their applications.

The first level is when the developer receives the DO (development order), the second level, when the building has been built to the roof, and the third, when the developer receives the Certificate of Fitness (CF) for the completed units.

Deputy Land and Co-operative Development Minister Dr Tan Kee Kwong and Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui were speaking to reporters at a recent Press conference at Wisma Tanah in Kuala Lumpur.

"Developers who fail to apply at the third level would be summoned to court. There are 15 to 20 old high-rise buildings which still have not obtained strata titles. Even the more-than-40-year-old Selangor Mansion building in Kuala Lumpur does not have strata titles," said Chin.

"Buildings that are more than 20 or 25 years, with or without CFs, must be surveyed for safety aspects and the relevant developers should take the responsibility to ensure that their buildings are safe.

"We do not want the safety aspects of the building to be compromised. We will submit the proposals to the Cabinet in another three months and expect them to be implemented by the end of the year."

Dr Tan said old developers might have passed away, wound up their business or lost the building plans, but they must do the right thing to help the house owners who have been waiting for years for strata titles.