Seven developments put on hold
01/12/2005 The Sun

KUALA LUMPUR: Seven proposed serviced apartment developments in the city have been put on hold following the Cabinet's recent directive to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to impose a temporary freeze on the property type.

The freeze, however, does not apply to projects that had already received approval from DBKL to proceed.

The "frozen" applications relate to proposed projects in various parts of the city and they are of differing sizes. (see table). Of the seven, five are located within the city centre while the other two are in Setapak and Jalan Klang Lama.

DBKL public relations officer Hanim Hashim, in response to queries from theSun, says the freeze is effective until further notice. She also says that only DBKL is affected by the directive.

Petaling Jaya Municipal Council's assistant director of the planning and development department, Zain Azly, confirms that they have not received such instructions from either the Selangor state or federal government.

Serviced apartments are built on commercial land. Unlike the regular condominiums and landed homes, they do not come under the ambit of the Housing Development Act. This means that investors of serviced apartments do not enjoy the protection accorded under the Act.

DBKL Mayor Datuk Ruslin Hasan (pix) had said that the temporary freeze was imposed as soon as the directive was received from the Cabinet in mid September.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting had reportedly said that the government would consider legislation to protect serviced apartment investors.It has also been reported that the ministry is planning to table amendments to the Housing Development Act in Parliament by the first quarter of next year.

Meanwhile, Chang Kim Loong, honorary secretary-general of the National House Buyers Association (HBA), lauds the government's move. He tells theSun there are some serviced apartment buyers who are not aware that they are not protected by the Housing Development Act. Nor do they realise that they are paying commercial rates for their amenities and assessment fees.

Chang hopes that by the time the directive is lifted, purchasers of serviced apartments would come under the protection of the Act.

He, however, feels that the temporary freeze should not be restricted to just Kuala Lumpur.

"There are serviced apartments coming up in Johor and Penang. This directive should cover all the local councils to protect purchasers throughout the country," he says.

The HBA, he adds, commends the Housing and Local Government Minister for his suggestion to include serviced apartments in the next amendment of the Housing Development Act next year.

PROPOSED PROJECTS AFFECTED
 

Developer	Applicant	Address of proposed project	Acreage
Magani Construction Sdn Bhd	SAA Architects Sdn Bhd	Lot 111 & 112, Jalan Conlay Kuala Lumpur	3.952
Metro Plaza Sdn Bhd	DP Architects Sdn Bhd	Lot 531 & 568, Jalan Berangan, off Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur	0.771
Medan Ehsan Sdn Bhd	Arkitek Lee Kah Chiu	Seb. Lot 27847, Jalan Gombak, Diamond Square, Setapak	0.89
Lion Courts Sdn Bhd	Teo. A. Khing Design Consultants	Lot 66, 363, 677 & 678, Jalan Tengah, Kuala Lumpur	4.117
Bedford Industrial Development Sdn Bhd	Akipraktis Architect	Lot 35148-35171, Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur	1.150
Spritzer Resources Sdn Bhd	SN Low & Associates Sdn Bhd	Lot 999, Jalan Changkat Raja Chulan/ Jalan Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur	0.186
Pinehigh Development Sdn Bhd	NRY Architects Sdn Bhd	Lot 1229 Lorong P Ramlee Kuala Lumpur	0.52