Md Dahlan, Nuarrual Hilal (2013) Issues on the remedies for aggrieved purchasers in abandoned housing projects in Malaysia: Time and manner for delivery of vacant possession. In: 1st International Conference on Innovation and sustainability (ICOIS 2013), April 3-4, 2013, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Abstract

Abandoned housing projects is a formidable problem in the Malaysian housing industry.Although the Malaysian government has enacted laws and formulated policies to govern the housing industry since it achieved Independence in 1957, abandoned housing projects still remains a recurrent problem until today.The real victims are the purchasers themselves.Among the problems and grievances faced by the purchasers in abandoned housing projects in Malaysia, are--they are unable to obtain the duly completed houses as promised by the housing developers,they have to pay monthly installment payments on loan obtained from their lenders, they have to pay house rents and some of them are made bankrupt by their lender banks for failure to service the monthly installment payments.The purchasers also may face other non-pecuniary losses and sufferings, to their chagrin, such as dismissal from employment, divorces, troubles, anxiety, mental pressure, distress, personal problems leading to chaotic and miserable health and lives due to the abandonment.There are certain legal and equitable remedies provided by the Malaysian housing law particularly the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 and its regulations (Act 1 la), the terms and conditions in the statutory sale and purchase agreements and the case law.These legal and equitable remedies include specific performance, declaratory order, rescission of contract and damages.Nonetheless these remedies may not obtainable if the housing developers have no monetary at all or that they run away out of jurisdiction or that the abandoned housing projects are too complicated and troublesome.Further there are other grievances that cannot be compensated or dealt with by the Malaysian current laws such as pain, anxiety, distress and humiliation that have been befalling the aggrieved purchasers.This paper aims to highlight the rights of the purchasers in abandoned housing projects to obtain late delivery damages due to the delay of the vendor housing developers to complete the construction of the house buildings and deliver vacant possession within the prescribed period.The issue is: whether in abandoned housing projects, the purchasers can adequately also get late delivery damages due to the developer's delay to deliver vacant possession of the duly completed building within the prescribed time period? The research methodology that this paper will use is a mixture of legal research methodologi and social research methodology.In other words, this paper is socio-legal writing.Further, this paper will suggest certain apt approaches, legal and non-legal in facing the issue to obtain late delivery damages by the purchasers from the abandoned housing vendor developer in abandoned housing projects.This paper finds that the available and applicable laws have inherent flaws and arc inadequate to provide sufficient remedies and redresses to the aggrieved purchasers particularly in getting late delivery damages as the developers fail to deliver vacant possession and abandoned the project altogether.Thus, through this paper, some suggestions are warranting to cushion, reduce and eliminate the purchasers' losses, injuries and sufferings emanating from the abandonment of their housing projects.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Additional Information:	Organised by: School of Government, Universiti Utara Malaysia
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions:	College of Law, Government and International Studies
Depositing User:	Prof Dr Nuarrual Hilal Md Dahlan
Date Deposited:	25 Jul 2013 04:45
Last Modified:	25 Jul 2013 06:56
URI:	https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/8599

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