KUCHING, March 29: House buyers caught up in problems like unresolved house defects or breaches of the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) have been urged to lodge complaints with the Tribunal for Housing Purchaser’s Claims Sarawak.
In giving this advice, Deputy Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government Michael Tiang said this would ensure their rights as buyers would be protected.
He noted that often, buyers would engage lawyers to handle SPA agreements when purchasing a house, in which the lawyers usually acted for both developers and buyers.
“Most of the time, when buyers faced issues over house defects or breaches of the SPA, they would be advised not to lodge a complaint with the Tribunal but to continue communicating with the developers.
“Because of that, it often caused their claims to fall outside the claim period,” he said in a statement today.
The Pelawan assemblyman pointed out that the claim filed with the Tribunal shall be no later than 18 months from the date of issuance of Occupation Permit (OP) or before the defects liability period ends as specified in the SPA.
He hopes that more buyers are aware of this Tribunal for House Purchaser Claims to ensure their rights are protected.
Tiang emphasised that the Tribunal for House Purchaser Claims was enforced on May 1, 2010 to provide an alternative to settle housing disputes, other than in court, for claims not exceeding RM150,000.
It will hear and adjudicate housing purchaser claims such as Liquidated Ascertained Damages (LAD), Defects of Workmanship and non-compliance with specifications as stated in the SPA.
“For the past three years, the Tribunal had settled nearly 300 cases for the whole of Sarawak,” he added.
Claims can be filed to the Tribunal online at homeapps.sarawak.gov.my.
A fee of RM50 will be charged for every filing. The Tribunal office can be contacted at 082-312507/312517 or by email at ttprs@sarawak.gov.my or by visiting the website at mphlg.sarawak.gov.my.
During the hearing session, the claimants must be present, and no legal representatives, including the developers, are allowed in the Tribunal court. — DayakDaily
