Urban Redevelopment Act forum: Don’t wage war between ‘sell’ and ‘stay’ homeowners

• Zamirzan also said that the URA will consider redevelopments for sick and abandoned projects, where homebuyers only have the sale and purchase agreements but not their strata titles.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): A recently held forum on the proposed Urban Redevelopment Act (URA) turned intense when the lower rate of consent threshold was brought up. 

Although the conditions for the URA have not been finalised yet, Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia) director TPr Zamirzan Puji said that the new Act is to be tabled in Parliament in either October or November for its first reading.

He revealed that the new consent thresholds to be obtained from homeowners — to allow the whole project to be redeveloped — have been proposed to be 80% for buildings that are 30 years old and below, 75% for those more than 30 years, and 51% for abandoned projects or unsafe buildings.  

According to the National House Buyers Association (HBA) honorary secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong, who was one of the speakers, the URA would create two camps — those who want to sell and those who want to stay.

“Enacting this new law for en-bloc sales without obtaining genuine consent from all owners would disrupt any development and could potentially fuel social unrest,” he said.

Chang pointed out that this new Act will not only include strata developments, but also landed properties, and industrial and commercial properties — a fact that Zamirzan also acknowledged. 

“We do not stifle development, but no rightful owner should be disadvantaged in any scheme in the name of redevelopment, rejuvenation or revitalisation. HBA’s stand is that any development, rejuvenation or renewal plan must receive the consent of every one owner,” he stressed.

Chang further highlighted that without proper enforcement or protective measures, more developers will continue to overpromise and underdeliver, unless the government can guarantee to cover any potential losses under the new Act.

Otherwise, legitimate property owners involved in the renewal scheme might end up worse off if the new project were abandoned, leading to suffering and losses for homeowners, banks and the government. 

The forum, held at the Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba Complex in Jalan Kuchai Lama, was organised and moderated by Seputeh MP Teresa Kok. It was the 31st engagement initiative conducted by PLANMalaysia to hear the rakyat’s feedback regarding the new Act.

During the Q&A session, Zamirzan stated that at the moment, even if the 100% consent of homeowners was not achieved, the government would employ the land acquisition process to go ahead with redevelopment, where it is deemed critical.

As for leasehold properties, Zamirzan said the land office or state authority would have to extend the tenures before the government embarked on renewal plans of such properties.

Additionally, he said that the URA will consider redevelopments for sick and abandoned projects, where homebuyers only have the sale and purchase agreements but not their strata titles.

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