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DEVELOPERS may not be in such a rush to collect booking fees in the future following a recent Federal Court ruling that not only is such a practice expressly prohibited by the law, but perhaps more crucially, that the calculation for late delivery of a house commences from the date a booking fee is paid, and not when the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is signed.
Commenting on the recent landmark ruling, legal experts say developers will likely be more cautious about collecting a booking fee or initial payment on a house as this would be considered illegal. Furthermore, they expect new residential SPAs to be signed only when developers are genuinely ready to commence a project, a move that could potentially deter them from building too many houses unless there is strong demand and help to reduce the significant property glut (see accompanying story, “What should developers do moving forward?”).
Published on: Wednesday, January 20, 2021
By: FMT
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Chang Kim Loong (third from left) with lawyers Kok Kean Kang, Viola D Cruz, Andy KL Wong and Rex RS Wong in court last year. The purchasers have won a landmark judgment. (Chang Kim Loong pic) - FMT
PUTRAJAYA: The calculation for late delivery payment to house buyers begins from the date the booking fee is paid, and not when the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is signed, the Federal Court ruled today.
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) 1966 and its subsidiary laws were social legislation and that was a settled law.
house Jan21
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court ruled in favour of house buyers concerning the calculation of liquidated ascertained damages (LAD) to be paid by housing developers in late delivery of vacant possession of their units.
A five-member bench led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in a unanimous decision on Tuesday, ruled that the LAD payable by housing developers to purchasers for the late delivery of vacant possession of units in a housing project must begin from the date of payment of booking fees and not from the date of the sale and purchase agreement.
Justice Tengku Maimun said the court would not countenance the bypassing of statutory safeguards meant to protect the purchasers.