PROCEDURES OF APPLAYING HOUSING TRIBUNAL IN MALAYSIA

Name : Asmeer Nor Aqilah Binti Amiruddin

Student ID : 2016474882
Class :4G

The main objective of Tribunal for home buyer claims is to provide

an easier , cheaper , faster and conviniet by means of dispute
resolution for homebuyers claiming damages and receive
compesation from housing developers . Since the year it established ,
the Tribunal has played an essential role in between homebuyers and
housing developers . The term of “ home buyer ” here means a person
who has subsequently purchased a housing accommondation from
the first purchaser of the housing accommodation . In the simplest
sentence is a person who bought a newly hand over unit from
developer .

Under jurisdiction of Tribunal , the tribunal may hear claims from

buyers on condition that a claim is filled no later than 12 months
from the date of issue of the Certificate of Fitness for Occupation (
CFO ) of the property or the expiry date of the defect liability period
as set out in the Sales and Purchase Agreement
( S & P agreement ) . Next , the S & P agreement involves housing
accommodation built in a residential area . Other than that , each
claim does not exceed RM 25 000 per cause of action unless , the
claimant agrees to forgo the balance of the claim or the acquiescence
of the developer is obtained in writing for the matter to be heard at
the Tribunal . Futhermore S & P agreement signed before 1
December 2002 can also be considered provided the claims fulfil the
criteria stated above or they are not housing projects by a co –
operative body or governmental agency .

Filing fees are kept to a nominal sum of RM10 for each pleading . If
there are two ( 2 ) names in the S & P agreement , both parties must
put down their names, IC numbers and signatures in the claim form
( Form 1 ) . Both parties must attend the hearing or if they are
unable to attend, issue a letter authorising a representative to act on
their behalf . Once Form 1 has been filed , the claimant must
personally serve a copy on the developer either by hand ( receipt
must be acknowledged ) or by AR registered mail . The developer
may file his defence or counter-claim in Form 2 ( 4 copies) with a fee
of RM10 within 14 days of the date of receiving a copy of Form 1 .
Why 4 copies are needed ? When submitting the 4 copies , the officer
will keep 1 copy for the processing . The officer will return you
another 3 copies to developer , to mortgage bank and for owner
keepig . That is the reason why there is a need to have 4 copies . Pls
take note that For developer and Bank copy, need to send to them
within 14 days from the date of submission . The claimant may file
his defence to the counter-claim in Form 3 with a fee of RM10 .

Under Act 118 , the Tribunal is required to make its award without
delay and where practicable , within 60 days from the first day of
hearing before the Tribunal . Generally nowadays , a claim is heard
within two months from the date the claim is filed by the homebuyer
and an award is usually made between two to four weeks after
conclusion of the hearing . Hence , much time and cost are saved by
homebuyers who choose to bring their claims before the Tribunal .
An award made by the Tribunal shall be final and binding on all
parties to the proceedings, and shall be deemed to be an order of the
Magistrate’s Court or a Sessions Court as the case may be and
beenforced accordingly .

The criminal penalty for failure to comply with the Tribunal’s award
was recently increased. Any person who fails to comply with an
award within the period specified by the Tribunal commits an
offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine which shall not be
less than RM5,000 but which shall not exceed RM10,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.
An additional fine of up to RM1,000 for each day or part of a day
during the offence continues after conviction may be imposed on the
offender.