31/07/2008 The Star

Often, residents complain about illegal home renovations and mega-structures coming up in their neighbourhoods. BAVANI M finds out from the authorities what unlawful renovations are as well as the by-laws and guidelines that home owners are supposed to abide by when renovating their homes.

LEE Choo Seng, 87, of Taman Seputeh in Kuala Lumpur hardly spends time at home these days. Most people his age would prefer to stay home gardening or even reading and enjoying some quiet time. However, Lee is “forced” to go out claims a neighbour who only wished to be known as Ng.

According to Ng, Lee often sought refuge at the nearby mall – Mid Valley Megamall - and only returned much later when things were quieter.

Built it up: At almost any housing area, sights like these are commonplace.

Ng said Lee would go off in the afternoons to avoid the constant grinding, drilling and banging sounds of renovation work going on in the neighbourhood.

Lee is not alone as many of his neighbours have also complained that the massive construction and renovation work going on simultaneously in the area has resulted in anger and frustration among the residents.

Complaints include on-going construction work, illegal renovation, encroachment onto public roads, uncleared construction debris, noise and dust pollution.

“We are not against development,’’ Ng said, adding that they were certainly against the blatant way their neighbours disregarded the rules and guidelines when renovating their homes.

They are also angry with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for not doing anything about it.

Legal check: If there is an Alam Flora waste bin outside the premises, the renovations are most likely to have been approved.

“DBKL should look at the status of neighbouring properties before giving approvals for renovations. The numerous renovations taking place at the same time have appeared to turn this area into a construction site,’’ Ng said.

According to Ng, at such a scale, the control and monitoring was totally different from that of a single isolated case.

The number of heavy vehicles, the noise level, the number of workmen, debris, sanitation, and dust are increased tremedously, affecting the residents’ quality of life.

“DBKL should look at the existing properties and not indiscriminately approve any submissions that come along,’’ Ng said.

StarMetro paid a visit to the neighbourhood recently and discovered that there were several construction projects going on and one or two were major ones.

Encroachment: These two old folks have been inconvenienced by renovation which has encroached into a public road.

Two were running into the third year and still look far from being completed.

According to a resident, who wished to remain anonymous, most of the work included tearing down existing buildings and rebuilding them on a grand scale.

According to this resident, from 2006 to 2007, within a radius of 50 metres, there were at least five construction and rebuilding jobs being carried out simultaneously.

Residents are questioning the DBKL’s policy on approvals and are saying that local authority’s priority should be to maintain the harmony of existing residences.

“What’s grossly incompatible should not be approved,’’ he said.

Some owners have also taken liberties during construction, flouting rules as to height limits, adding attics and basements without approval, relocating house entrances to side roads and even encroaching onto road shoulders to create private car parks or gardens.