Longer time for aggrieved buyers
KOTA KINABALU:
The Sabah Housing Tribunal will propose to the Government to extend the period for submission of claims by aggrieved house buyers. Its President Haji Ahmad Sedik said currently, the period of time for
the submission of claims is 12 months from the date of issuance of Occupancy Certificate. “I have to go through the law and make amendments to it and submit to the Government since the one-year submission period for claims is too short,” he said at the Housing Tribunal Han Raya open house here yesterday. According to Ahmad, the submission period for claims might be extended to three years to give buyers more time. “Sometimes the buyer has a very strong case but because of the short time period for the submission of claims, such as delays on the settlement, it is already too late for them to file the case,” he said. Some buyers are late in filing their claims and then complain about the short time period for filing their claim, he said. However, Ahmad said buyers may still bring their cases to the Civil Court even after the time period for their submissions has expired. Meanwhile, he said the Housing Tribunal will hold a roadshow at other parts of the State to improve public awareness on issues related to claims. “We will organise a roadshow to Sandakan next week and Tawau probably next month,” he said, adding there have been many such complaints from buyers in Tawau. Of the 178 registered cases from all over Sabah, the majority are from Kota Kinabalu, Beaufort, Tawau and Sandakan, according to him. Some 130 cases have been settled. “Most of the complaints were about delays in delivery and defects in houses,” he said.
