‘Ensure China developers comply with laws’
The National House Buyers Association advises the public to be cautious when buying houses from these foreign companies.
PETALING JAYA: The National House Buyers Association (HBA) has urged the government to ensure that property developers from China comply with Malaysia’s stringent housing laws.
“We don’t want a situation where projects are abandoned and house buyers stranded,” the association’s secretary-general, Chang Kim Loong, said in an interview with FMT.
“Developers from China have better economies of scale and can potentially build houses faster and more cheaply compared with local developers,” he said. “This could mean cheaper prices for the average house buyer but pose a threat to local developers who are unable to compete.”
Chang said the Chinese developers were building on a scale “not seen before in Malaysia” and urged buyers to assess the projects’ viability before buying.
He said the government must ensure that the foreigners comply with the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act so that the rights of buyers would remain protected.
The law is aimed at ensuring that only developers in a strong financial position are given licences.
Chang also urged the government to adopt the hybrid buy-then-sell (BTS) 10:90 scheme where the buyer pays 10% upon signing the sale and purchase agreement and the remaining 90% only when the unit is delivered complete with the Certificate of Completion and Compliance, ownership papers and electricity and water supply.
He also said the government must ensure a level playing field for local developers and accord them the same incentives given to Chinese developers.
Real Estate and Housing Developers Association president Fateh Iskandar Mohd Mansor recently complained that Chinese firms were given incentives not enjoyed by local developers, such as tax rebates.
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Last month, Bloomberg reported that local developers such as UEM Sunrise Bhd, Sunway Bhd and SP Setia Bhd had been affected by the influx of developers from China into Johor Bahru.