A conceptual study on landlord and tenant law in peninsular Malaysia: a focus on private residential tenancy

Unlike other jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Malaysia does not have legislation that deals specifically with landlords and tenants. Thus, a tenancy agreement can be concluded either orally or in writing. As such the rights and obligations of both parties are depending on the terms and conditions of the contract entered by them. The problem would arise if both a landlord and tenant are not equal in footing in terms of bargaining power. Hence their rights either as a landlord or tenant may not be well protected. Obviously there is no specific law dealing with rent control and other related matters that lead to tenancy disputes. These include issues on security and rental deposit, quality and safety of the rented houses, termination, eviction and a mechanism for dispute settlement. While provisions on tenancies and leases can be found in the National Land Code 1965, Contracts Act 1950, Distress Act 1951 and Specific Relief Act 1950, the existing legislation remains rather vague and deals with the issue in piecemeal. The question thus arises whether a comprehensive law in a single statute is really needed to regulate landlords and tenants in Peninsular Malaysia? Adopting the qualitative research methodology, this conceptual paper will focus on the relationship between landlord and tenant in private residential tenancy. It is the aims of this paper to identify key legal issues in landlord and tenant relationship in this sector and to examine the adequacy of existing legal framework. The reported cases on landlord and tenant may become evidences as to the need of a specific landlord and tenant law in Peninsular Malaysia, in particular for private residential tenancy. The best practices from Scotland are taken as reference, whenever necessary. The findings of the research found that based on laws and practices in these two jurisdictions, it is very significant to have specific law to regulate the relationship between landlord and tenant in private residential tenancy in order to protect the interest of all parties involved. Keywords: Landlord and tenant, housing, contract, common law, private residential tenancy

A legal perspective on gated communities in Malaysia

As a developing country, Malaysia is very much influenced by the concept of planning and housing development implemented in other countries. Although the “gated community” (GC) is already popular in other parts of the world; especially in developed countries for instance Florida, Arizona, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Lisbon, Madrid etc., this concept is relatively new to Malaysia. It has gained acceptance in Malaysia and attracted studies by professionals such as planners, designers, sociologists, criminologists, lawyers etc. who are keen to gain insights on its implementation as well as its significance to the development of the country, specifically in the cities. Discussion on GC is part of the prevalent features in built environment studies which has a direct link with the issue of creating a safer urban community. It is the aim of this paper to look into the legal aspects under the Malaysian law on the implementation of the GC concept involving landed properties such as bungalows and semi detached houses. This would involve considerations on the misconceptions of the GC concept by Malaysian housing developers and its legal consequences

SQUATTERS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSES IN URBAN AREAS: LAW AND POLICY IN MALAYSIA

Being one of the developing countries in Asia, squatters and housing are among the main subject of government focus in each development programmme in Malaysia. This article focuses on the issue of squatters and housing and seeks to present on how the Malaysian government has work towards providing a quality life and affordable housing to its citizens. Nonetheless, undoubtedly Malaysia is facing a crisis of urban squatters which has become a challenge for the local authorities as well as the federal government. Discussion on this topic will relate to the application of relevant laws and regulations that affect the responsibilities of local authorities, planning authorities and other related government agencies.squatters, urban areas, housing.

Housing Tribunals: Comparative Analysis of The Practices in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak

As a developing country, Malaysia can be proud of its structured mechanism in relation to land, housing and property. The mechanism will support the growth of these areas. This is also related to the confidence the public has in property developers. In Malaysia there are three housing tribunals that are applicable in three different jurisdictions, namely, the Tribunal for Homebuyers’ Claim in Peninsular Malaysia and the Tribunal for Housing Purchasers’ Claim in Sabah and Sarawak that came into force in 2002, 2007 and 2010, respectively. The purpose of the Tribunal is to minimise the burden that purchasers have to face in order to claim remedies from developers. It is the objective of this article to provide a comparative analysis of the provisions, rules and procedures of the Tribunal for Homebuyers’ Claim in Peninsular Malaysia and the Tribunals for Housing Purchasers’ Claim in Sabah and Sarawak. It is hoped that this comparison will yield improvements in the laws and regulations governing all three tribunals in Malaysia

Squatters and affordable houses in urban areas: law and policy in Malaysia

Being one of the developing countries in Asia, squatters and housing are among the main subject of government focus in each development programmme in Malaysia. This article focuses on the issue of squatters and housing and seeks to present on how the Malaysian government has work towards providing a quality life and affordable housing to its citizens. Nonetheless, undoubtedly Malaysia is facing a crisis of urban squatters which has become a challenge for the local authorities as well as the federal government. Discussion on this topic will relate to the application of relevant laws and regulations that affect the responsibilities of local authorities, planning authorities and other related government agencies

Housing development and prima: myth or reality?

One of the mechanisms in promoting housing development in a country is by having sufficient legal provisions regulating land matters and development. Recently the Malaysian Parliament has passed a new act relating to housing in Malaysia that is Perumahan Rakyat 1 Malaysia 2011(hereinafter referred to as “PR1MA”). It is alleged that the purpose of the Act inter alia to give opportunity to the middle income class citizens to buy houses where the corporation established through PR1MA will take care of the housing development. .evertheless having read through the Act, it is observed that there are many ambiguities and uncertainties as to the functions of the corporation and how the corporation will carry out such functions. This paper is aimed at analysing the provisions of PR1MA Act 2011 with the intention to present the strengths and weaknesses of the Act. As this paper will involve pure legal discussions, it will use the qualitative approach and the law and practices in Scotland may be referred to as comparison

Quality housing: regulatory and administrative framework in Malaysia

The housing industry in Malaysia is regarded as one of the major industries contributing to the economic and social development of the country. The industry is regulated by several sets of rules and the imposition of regulations, guidelines and standards is to ensure that all categories of houses, inclusive of houses for the lower income group will be constructed according to the acceptable standard. Despite the existence of these regulatory measures, yet there are many problems faced by house-buyers in Malaysia. This has to be affiliated with the level of commitment of housing developers as well as the enforcement of the above rules and regulations by the respective authorities. One of the most common problems encountered by the Malaysian house buyers is the sub-standard construction of houses. There is a standard form of sale and purchase agreement (SPA) stipulated under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (HD Regulations 1989) but as far as the problem of sub-standard construction of houses is concerned, Malaysian house-buyers are not well protected. In general there is no benchmark in Malaysia to measure the standard of quality of houses constructed by developers. It is the aim of this article to look into some recent amendments to the legal provisions (and its loopholes) concerning the statutory duties imposed on the three most important institutions related to the building of quality houses, namely the local authorities, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), in ensuring that houses constructed by developers will meet the quality that house-buyers expect. It is hoped that all quarters involved in the Malaysian construction industry be they professionals or semi professionals as well as policy makers will take into account the enforcement of the laws and practices in other jurisdictions as reference for the construction of quality houses

Legal development on management of strata dispute in peninsular Malaysia

Strata living brings people of diverse interests, different cultures, values, ages and backgrounds under one roof. With that background, it is usual to have differences and disputes. While many would generally believe that problems can be resolved by prople involved talking about their problems and fulfilling their expected responsibilities, more often than not, more formal measures are needed. This paper highlights some approaches to improve the way strata disputes are resolved with reference to the newly approved Bill of Strata Management 2013. Under the Strata Titles Act 1985 and Building and Common Property (Management and Maintenance) Act 2007, when the issues cannot be resolved informally, the laws offer a number of mechanisms to resolve disputes, including reference to the High Court for serious matter.However, there are demands and suggestions for alternatives to the current options and the government has taken initiative to review the laws to include among others, tribunal for strata to resolve disputes in strata properties. This paper traces problems on strata properties management from case law, identifies the limitations in the current system, and highlights the proposed improvement in the new Bill. The result shows that Malaysia still lacks consultation to gather input from strata owners, tenants, strata council members, strata associations, other stakeholders and the general public. Though there are new initiatives introduced in the new law, it is doubtful whether the improvements suit the needs of those involved in strata properties