Govt comes to the aid of house buyers

22/08/2003 The Star By V.K.Chin

THE decision to ensure that open spaces in housing projects remain as recreational purposes only should prevent future abuse by some unscrupulous developers. 

House buyers have been frustrated by some greedy developers who had gone ahead with developing open areas meant for the enjoyment of the residents. 

Such open areas, in the form of playgrounds, parks or fields, have been used as a selling point by developers and many buyers could have been influenced by such promises. 

Such a zone will add to the quality of life of the residents as they can make use of the empty land for their children's enjoyment, to exercise or just to sit around and socialise with neighbours in the evenings. 

The residents therefore do not expect any further development on such pieces of land as promised by the developers.  

Unfortunately, some developers merely used such facilities as a sales gimmick to ensure the houses are snapped up by unsuspecting buyers. 

Unknown to the buyers, the developers have their own agenda to develop the land at the earliest opportunity.  

So one could imagine the unhappiness of the buyers when out of the blue, the piece of property is being developed thus depriving the residents of a recreational facility. 

It is not merely the deprivation of the use of the land that infuriates the residents but further development will lead to overcrowding with a proportionate increase in density and traffic. 

But there is really little that the residents can do to stop the new project as permission would have been given to the developer to do so quite often without the residents being consulted. 

The only way to stop this development is for the residents to take legal action but this is going to be a costly and most probably long-drawn affair. 

Realising the dilemma faced by buyers in many housing projects, the Government has decided to step in to prevent them from being short-changed by their developers. 

At a media conference after opening the 51st meeting of the National Council for Local Governments on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said such open spaces, which will include a field, gymnasium or community hall, would be gazetted and placed under the jurisdiction of the state government. 

Once this has been done, the state government, instead of the local councils, will be in charge of such open spaces thus ending the present confusion over the status of the land or facility.