• Fraudulent / questionable land transactions – DBKL, FELDA
  
• Private Lease Scheme (PLS) – illegal or lacuna in the law?
  
• RTO / Lease-purchase contracts – the way forward?
  
• Stratum and Spatium development – NLC to be amended?
  
• Wakaf land development – Role of MAIN; what rights do “purchasers” get?
  
• Urban regeneration / redevelopment projects in Malaysia
  
• Kg Baru Redevelopment Authority; Kg Baru Master Plan
  
• Terminating a strata project for redevelopment – what next?
  
• A special Urban Renewal Act?

According to media reports in September 2018, a DBKL task force (set up to investigate 97 questionable land transactions) had recommended that 20 land transactions be further investigated, whilst 19 others were to be cancelled.

On October 30, 2018, Federal Territories Minister, Khalid Samad told the media that the general public will be able to get the full information on all land use within the national capital once the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 is gazetted in November 2018. The Minister also said that 70 per cent of these questionable land transactions had taken place when Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was the Federal Territories minister.

A land deal between FELDA and a developer involving a piece of land in Jalan Semarak (the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City development project) had also been questioned by the authorities.

In July 2018, 107 purchasers of a development project in Medini, Johor (a private lease scheme, PLS) had filed court proceedings against their developer for failing to issue separate strata titles for their purchased units. They claimed damages for misrepresentation and late delivery.

In 2018, many purchasers (for example, of PR1MA housing projects) faced difficulty in obtaining end financing for their new homes. This had led to the emergence of rent to own schemes (RTO) launched by several financial institutions, and lease contracts between the developers and the purchasers. This could very well lead to the passage of a new Tenancy Act in the future.

Presently there are no provisions in the National Land Code and the Strata Title Act allowing private lease schemes in Peninsular Malaysia. The Medini private lease scheme was meant for foreign investors (the authorities do not want them to acquire freehold properties), but some of the strata units had also been sold to local purchasers.

The potential future development of more skyscrapers and underground cities has led to proposed amendments of the National Land Code (on stratum and spatium). The development of wakaf land via joint ventures between the state religious authorities (as sole trustee of wakaf land) and developers have raised legal problems as to what legal rights can be passed on to “purchasers” of such developed units. Under Islamic law, wakaf land cannot be sold.

Urban renewal or urban regeneration is the latest trend in urban areas. They have been undertaken in many places across the nation – from Alor Setar to Kuala Lumpur, to Malacca (Kampung Morten) and Johor Bahru. The redevelopment of Kampung Baru KL is now guided by the Kampung Baru Master Plan as well as KL City Plan 2020.

Redevelopment of old strata projects is now given serious attention by the authorities and model legislation in foreign jurisdictions has been studied for adoption.

Participants attending this first Corporate Briefing on Property Law by IPA will be given a thorough understanding of all these various issues to prepare them handle effectively the challenges in the years to come.

• Property Owners & Developers
• Property Consultants
  
• Property Managers
• Bankers
  
• Insurance Companies
• Financiers
  
• Land Administration Managers
• Valuers
  
• Development & Planning Managers
• Investment Advisers
  
• Town Planners
• Project Co-ordinators
  
• Contract Managers & Executives
• Contractors
  
• Contract Administrators
• Architects
  
• Engineers
• Quantity Surveyors
  
• Construction Managers
• Legal Advisors
  
• Lawyers
• Project Managers
  
• Local Authorities
  
• Government Ministries & Departments