SHAH ALAM, August 15: The Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS) and the Local Authorities (PBT) have been ordered to find new ways to solve the problem of the lack of Certificate of Fitness (CF) faced by certain neighbourhoods, especially for projects that have been neglected by bankrupt developers.
The Exco in charge of Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlement, Iskandar Abdul Samad when contacted said that the State Government is still looking into this problem so that the safety of the residents who are occupying problematic housing is taken care of.
“In many cases, we face problems with developers. If the developer is still there, we could urge the developer to improve the situation, but most of the developers tracked down have already gone bankrupt or are out of business. If so, an alternative should be pursued,” he said.
Iskandar said this in response to complaints of the Batu Caves Flats residents who fear for their safety because the flats occupied does not have a CF over the past 20 years.
The residents who met us said that they had no other choice because they mostly come from the low income group.
Iskandar added that over the past five years, the State Government has detected various CF-related cases arising from housing developers that do not comply with the building plan.
“Since the last term, the State Government has initiated efforts to solve this problem and it will continue in the new term. Last June, LPHS was ordered to make arrangements for this purpose in collaboration with Local Authorities in Selangor to set annual targets,” he said.
In another development, the State Government is also devising strategies aimed at empowering the residents with the Joint Management Body (JMB) and the Management Council (MC) to implement apartment restoration projects.
This strategy will see residents and committees involved in playing a more active role with the State Government being the facilitator and providers of housing assistance such as the Ceria refurbishing scheme and the Seroja neighbourhood patrol scheme.
“Touching on maintenance and garbage problems, we can solve this through the Perhatin committee. Such problems will not be resolved if the State Government always intervenes. Residents must have a sense of responsibility,” he said.