Who should be responsible for this?
Published on: Sunday, December 04, 2022
Text Size:
The extended driveway (left). The complainant’s driveway (right).
The Occupancy Certificate was obtained in October 2019 and the keys were given by the developer to me in December 2019. I have been managing the unit since.
Several defects mentioned to the developer since February 2020 have not been rectified.
There is water leaking underground from a broken water pipe. I reported this to the developer, the consultant engineers, and the M&E engineers and to LPPB but to date nothing was done.
A number of houses have steep driveways where standard Malaysian cars cannot be driven up to the porch. Two house owners facing the same problem widened the driveway and were still unable to drive their cars to the porch. They then rebuilt it and extended it by 2 to 3 feet onto the road. This is dangerous to other road users.
The developer complained to DBKK about the driveway extensions. DBKK engineers visited the site but have not yet done anything about it.
I complained to the developer about not being able to drive up the driveway. When no response came, I wrote to the engineers and the architect and they advised me to refer the matter to the developer. I was even told that perhaps was driving the wrong type of vehicle! I don’t know if it was mean to be a joke or an insult.
Similarly, DBKK officers who visited the site said that this should be undertaken by the developer but there has still been no repair to the road from which the driveway extends.
I then reported this matter to LPPB who are the joint venture developers of this housing project but they, too, have not done anything about it.
As it is, the road leading to the houses is dangerous to drive. What more if more of the house owners decide to extend their driveways like what was done by two other house owners as a solution. There should be a solution to this problem either by the developer or by the authorities.
The sales and purchase agreement has an Approved Development Plan (ADP) attached.
Questions on the ADP and the construction that seem to have deviated from the ADP have so far not been addressed by the developer, the engineers, the architects, DBKK and LPPB.
The engineers and architect point their fingers at DBKK saying it had approved the plan and issued the Occupancy Certificate.
An officer/ engineer at DBKK, on the other hand, claimed DBKK approved the development plan based on clearance by Fire Department, Water department, etc. But what did DBKK do when they inspected the site on 21 Mac 2019:
- DBKK earthwork department conducted its necessary inspection.
- DBKK Road/traffic department conducted their inspection at 9.20am.
The sales and purchase agreement is copied verbatim from the Housing Development Rules 2008. The following is from the S&P. The Schedules are an essential part of this Agreement. Schedule A, among others, states the following:
h) Plans approved and cannot be changed.
The plans for the Project and the property has been duly approved by the Appropriate Authority and no alterations to the approved plans shall be made or carried out except as may be required by the Appropriate Authority.
(i) Good workmanlike manner in accordance with plans and specifications
The property shall be constructed in a good workmanlike manner in accordance with the specifications and plans approved by the Appropriate Authority and agreed to by and between the Purchaser and the Developer. No change thereto or deviation therefrom shall be made without the consent in writing of the Purchaser except as may be required by the Appropriate Authority.
A number of questions beg for answers:
- Were the alterations made to the original Development Plan submitted to DBKK prior to commencement of work?
- Was the architect even aware of the alterations made?
- Why were the platform heights and road heights on the original Development Plan changed?
- Did DBKK (the Appropriate Authority) order changes or deviations from the Original Development Plan?
- Why was no written consent requested from the purchasers?
- What is the purpose of the S&P agreement if developers and owners of land can deviate from the Original Development Plan?
- What safeguards do house buyers have when the authorising authorities approve amended development plans without taking into consideration whether house purchasers can access their houses using standard Malaysian cars?
Details of emails I had written to the professionals and to the authorities can be found on my Website at https://luqmanmusings.blogspot.com/
Luqman Michel
- The views expressed here are the views of the writer Luqman Michel and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express.
- If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
ADVERTISEMENT
