Urban Renewal Act: draft Bill open for public feedback until March 7

• According to the draft, the consent threshold for participation is as follows: 80% for buildings of 30 years, 75% for buildings more than 30 years, and 51% for abandoned buildings. 

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): The Urban Renewal Bill (URB) is now open for public feedback until March 7.

The proposed draft of the Urban Renewal Act (URA), which is set to be presented in Parliament next month, has been available for viewing since Feb 21 (Friday) through the Government’s Unified Public Consultation (UPC) portal.

Regulated by the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT)’s Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia), the URB is currently at the first stage of “Forum discussion” in the UPC, before it proceeds to the “Preliminary consultation” and “Final consultation” stages.

The “‘Forum’ is an early stage of issues identification where regulators may pose topics to obtain feedback and seek clarity on issues that has raised public interests and may require policy intervention by the Government,” stated UPC’s website.

In a statement last month, KPKT had said the formulation of a proper legislation (on urban revitalisation of deteriorating townships or dilapidated urban areas) sits atop the list of its 122 action plans.

“The URB seeks to rejuvenate existing urban areas, making them more liveable, while enabling residents to work and commute more conveniently, using public transport such as LRT and MRT,” PLANMalaysia director general Datuk Dr Alias Rameli said in a Bernama report today (Monday).

(Read also:
Urban Renewal Act a top priority, says Housing and Local Govt Ministry
Urban Renewal Bill to drive more planned city development — PLANMalaysia)

Amongst the proposals, the URB seeks to lower the consent threshold required for the en-bloc sale of strata title properties from the current 100% required under Section 57 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 (Act 318).

According to the draft, the consent threshold for participation is as follows: 80% for buildings of 30 years, 75% for buildings more than 30 years, and 51% for abandoned buildings.  

The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs has described the lowering of the threshold as the “main bone of contention”.

Among its opponents is the National House Buyers Association (HBA). “The URA law will probably be the most important Act that will forever change how land and properties are owned where dissenting groups will be left in the lurch to fend for themselves. In fact, the entire landscape of property (stratified and landed properties: residential or commercial) ownership —both for Malaysians and foreigners — will be affected,” HBA honorary secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong told EdgeProp.my.

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