Govt mulls law to allow house sale ads

KUALA LUMPUR: The Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Ministry plans to draw up a law to allow house sale advertisements to prevent buyers from being cheated.
Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar (pix)said the law would require housing developers to seek the approval of the National Housing Department before any advertisement was published in the print and electronic media.
"We are aware of advertisements on television and newspapers which duped the public into believing that a housing project is genuine and licensed," he said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (BN-Setiu) on government measures against agents of fake housing projects.
To the original question from Che Mohamad Zulkifly, on the number of reports on cheating in the purchase of real estate, Noh said that from Jan 1, 2014, to Sept 30 last year, the National Housing Department received 107 complaints, and all were addressed.

He said 7,413 complaints were received by the Tribunal for Housing and Strata Management between Jan 1, 2013, and Oct 30 last year, and 7,108 of the cases were resolved.
Noh said the ministry assisted victims by granting them special approvals to buy units at People's Housing Projects (PPR) at RM35,000 each under the rent-to-own system, and those who had land could obtain a loan of RM65,000 to build a house. — Bernama