KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry is looking into establishing a standard operating procedure which will allow high rise buildings’ joint management bodies (JMB) or management committees (MC) to screen potential foreign tenants before allowing the owner of the apartment to rent to them.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the ministry wants to make sure there is a screening process for any foreigner that wants to rent a unit, and the owner of the apartment has to submit the foreigner’s details to the JMB or MC to vet through the names, allowing them to go through the police to see if they have any criminal records.
“If they’re clear of any records, the JMB can approve of the tenancy, but if the JMB disapprove, the owner cannot allow tenancy to these foreigners. By doing this, we can monitor who these foreigners are in the community,“ she told reporters after the media launch of Sororoptimist International’s 21st Global Conference today.
When asked if foreigners can circumvent the vetting process by asking a local to rent the unit on their behalf, Zuraida said the JMB or MC will be given the powers to take action when such an issue occurs.
“Security guards at the apartment or condo can be assigned to be on the lookout for such foreigners if that happens,“ she said.
She added that this stemmed from various social issues that foreigners have rented the units, only to be seen to be using the place to manufacture drugs, illegal medications, theft and so on.
