What I'm referring to is the current rage of building apartments suitable for residential accommodation on land zoned for commercial use, resulting in what is simply known as serviced apartments.

Agreed, this term is nothing new, having taken root since the 1980s with projects such as Micasa in Kuala Lumpur's Tun Razak area. But whereas the Micasa's of Malaysia - and you can add to it others such as Ascot and PNB Darby Park - are professionally operated as alternatives to hotels, there's a new breed that now occupies a grey niche in the industry.

According to the Ministry of Finance's National Property Information Centre or Napic, as at the end of last year, there are 60 projects containing 6,215 units "owned and run by hoteliers or other corporations as - hotel accommodation" and thus, classified as part of the country's leisure stock. No problems with these as they don't affect the everyday man seeking a roof over his head with the least amount of stress.

But in another report covering residential supply, Napic unveiled for the first time the existence of 12,123 serviced units that can be sold on a stratified basis and used as homes.

Prior to Napic's 2003 report, such stock had been included as part of residential supply due to their nature of use. However, recent redefinition of terminology has exposed them to be an animal of a different colour.

Right now, that hue is grey, simply because although they can be used as homes, the fact they are commercial in nature means they are not covered by existing housing laws.

As such, their builders need not obtain developer licences nor advertising and sale permits before taking their projects to market.

Second, the structure of sale and payment need not comply with the Government's Housing and Development Act, and third, buyers cannot turn to the Housing Tribunal to take up issues such as non-payment of liquidated ascertained damages in the event of late delivery.

So, even though buyers might be prepared to make their homes in commercial projects and pay the higher electricity and water rates applicable in such ventures compared to conventional housing units, they face an exceptional level of risk.

The apparent oversight in our legislature has already put quite a few serviced apartment buyers in a lurch as those who had taken stakes Rhythm Avenue in Subang, Selangor, Tristar, or CN Galley both in KL can attest to.

Of course, not all developers are cut from the wrong piece of cloth. The prime locations of the latter two projects have allowed them to be resuscitated by apparent white knights, while many other launches are being undertaken by companies that are as safe as houses. But as for others ....?

The lingering question has apparently galvanised the Government into action, and early last month, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said laws will be made to protect serviced apartment owners. At the same time, he also asked all State authorities to be careful when approving such projects and ensure that their developers have the necessary capital and track record to complete what they promise.

How the regulation takes shape remains to be seen. Checks with some legislators believed to be involved in drawing it up said they can't talk as everything's under OSA wraps. That sounds like a promising start - at least it has gone beyond lip service.

This week, Nicholas examines the forms the new serviced apartment laws could take - if they could involve re-zoning of existing projects or amendments to the Housing Act together with a definition on what serviced apartments are.

The latter looks like the easier, more plausible and faster route. With time being of the essence - another 35,000 residential type serviced apartment are currently in the recently completed, under construction or planned stages - there is definitely a need to colour the animal anything but grey.