24-month warranty from April
26/02/2007 NST By : Azura Abas

GENTING HIGHLANDS: Housebuyers will be looking forward to April when the extended defect liability warranty on houses, from 18 to 24 months, takes effect.

The new liability period will be included in the sale and purchase agreements of new units.

The better protection for housebuyers had been made possible following amendments to five Acts and regulations in a move to tighten the nation’s housing policies.

They are the Strata Titles Act, the Engineers Act, the Architects Act, the Roads, Buildings and Drainage Act, the Housing Development Act and the Uniform Buildings By-laws.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting advised developers to build quality units as most people bought houses once in their lifetime using their hard-earned savings.

"We want developers to give better guarantees to house buyers. It is only fair that they build defect-free units," he said at the Genting Group Chinese New Year open house here yesterday.

Among those present at the event were Genting Group chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Genting Berhad deputy chairman Tun Hanif Omar and Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Fong Chan Onn.

On the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) to replace the Certificate of Fitness for Occupation (CFO), also to take effect in April, Ong said problems were expected to be reduced by half.

Currently, the CFO is issued by local authorities, and delays are common due to red tape.

Under the CCC, the certificate for newly-completed buildings will be issued by engineers and architects.

The National Council for Local Government, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, will meet on March 23 to look into the transition from CFO to CCC at all levels in the states, a process expected to be completed by April.