Latent defects - Housing Tribunal

 

This morning I received a WhatsApp message about a developer in West Malaysia being ordered by  the Housing Tribunal to pay compensation to house buyers. You may read the FMT article here. 

I went to the Housing Tribunal at Wisma Tun Fuad opposite Karamunsing Complex. An officer there said that he will make an appointment for me to meet the legal officer who is stationed at the Ministry of Local Government and Housing at Wisma Innoprise. I met the legal officer on 9.1.2023.

The officer listened to me for about 20 minutes or so and jotted down a few points in her hand book. Then she said that since the defect liability period is over, the Tribunal will not be able to assist.

 

My complaint was about the water bill and management bill that all house owners were given in July 2022. How do we complain about excessive water bill charges before the end of the defect liability period when the bills were given more than one year after the defect liability period?

The officer was unaware of latent defects.  A latent defect has the characteristic of being hidden, a defect which cannot be detected by reasonable means. Water was/is discharged from broken water pipes that had existed prior to me being handed the keys to the house. I was not aware of the water loss as it was underground. I could only figure out the loss through the broken pipe when I received the bills. The bills were given only one year after the defect liability period.

I believe it is just an easy way out for the legal officer or perhaps she is not capable of thinking anything outside the norm.

Here is an extract of the Limitation Act: new Section 6A.

In 2018, the Malaysian Parliament finally passed the Limitation (Amendment) Act, 2018 (Amendment Act) to address this issue. The long overdue amendment to the Malaysia Limitation Act was gazetted on May 4, 2018 and has been in force since Sept 1, 2019.

The Amendment Act introduced a new Section 6A which provides that an action claiming for damages for negligence (not involving personal injuries) may be brought within three years from the earliest date on which the plaintiff first had knowledge required for bringing an action and a right to bring such action.

Essentially, this means that a property owner is allowed to bring an action for defect of the property against a developer within three years from the earliest date of discovering the defect, notwithstanding six years have passed since the defect has occurred.

However, there is a catch to this, where Section 6A(3) provides that no action can be commenced 15 years after the date on which the cause of action accrued. According to the explanation of the then deputy minister during the tabling of the Amendment Bill in Parliament, this was to protect engineers and architects.

I wrote the following email to the director and have yet to receive an acknowledgment of receipt of my email. This appears to be the rule rather than the exception. I hope the new government will insist that all emails from the public must be acknowledged receipt.

luqman michel <luqmanm2002@yahoo.co.uk>

To:Ambrose.Lim@sabah.gov.my

Cc:MohdHerddyErzuan.MohdSidik@sabah.gov.my,Fidelia.Wong@sabah.gov.my

Wed, 11 Jan at 07:06

Dear Mr. Ambrose Lim,

On 9.1.2023, on the recommendation of Mr. Mohd. Herddy I met Puan Nicola Jane Yasambun in her office at Wisma Innoprise.

I explained in detail to her about the water pipe problem at my son's house, No. S9, Vistana Heights.

I also told her about the management bill that was also given in July 2022.

I attach the main page of a report I gave Puan Nicola.

After listening to me she said that since the defect liability period is over it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

Sir, the water bills and the management bills as explained were given to all house residents only at the end of July 2022.

There is no way I would have known that there is a leak in the water pipe underground and that it had existed even before I was handed the keys.

To say that one cannot complain once the defect liability period is over seems to be an absurd excuse. There is no way anyone could have known there is a leak underground.

Sir, how does KKTP account for latent defects?

If latent defects are not considered by KKTP then there appears to be a loophole in the system.

What is there to prevent developers, as in my case, to hand over invoices after the defect liability period?

What is the purpose of enacting the limitation (amendment) act 2018?

Kindly confirm receipt of this email.

Luqman Michel

How can we ever learn about such things if the officers do not respond to emails? This is the case with the developer of Vistana Heights, the consultant engineers, the architect, DBKK, LPPB and ministers.