12 years wait for Tongkang Pecah house buyers

Fifty low cost terrace house purchasers in Tongkang Pecah filed a claim against the developer with the Tribunal of Homebuyer Claim here yesterday.

The Tongkang Pecah low cost terrace housing project was said to have been delayed for twelve years. It was supposed to be completed in year 2000.

The house purchasers are filing their claims against the developer for late delivery and the houses were built not following specifications.

The house purchasers bought the low cost terrace house costing RM25,000 each.

One house purchaser, Jumatlee @ Bungsu Sambuling, 40 said that the house purchasers were frustrated with all the empty promises made by the developer.

“We have been servicing our housing loan with the bank and have also been paying taxes for the property which we are unable to stay”, she added.

Elaborating further she said when the developer handed over the house keys to us, we found that the doors and the windows of the houses were damaged and broken.

Some of the house purchasers have already passed away even before they can stay in their houses, she spoke with regrets.

Meanwhile, the southern zone assistant secretary for the Tribunal of Homebuyer claim, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Siti Hajar Abdullah said that most of the cases filed are for ‘non technical’ claims.

She said that the Tribunal will fix a hearing date soon and the will make a judgement after listening to both parties.

The Tribunal for Homebuyer Claim was established in December 2002 under Section 1 of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966. The southern branch was opened in year 2007.

The objective of the Tribunal for Homebuyers Claim is to provide an alternative to hear and to adjudicate the house buyers’ claims and/or damages against the developers in a simple, inexpensive and faster way.