There was this viral news about good news for home buyer. It’s about late delivery payment. Liquidated Ascertained Damages (LAD).
Have I experienced claiming for late delivery payment?
I am fortunate. Thus far, I have not bought any property where the delivery of the property was late and I had to go through the hassle of claiming for late delivery payment from the developer. I do think developers should always deliver early instead. Then, the home buyers would have confidence with your brand. Property development is always a long term venture and a good buyer may but from the developer again and again.
Federal Court has ruled that the calculation for late delivery payment to house buyers begins from the date the booking fee is paid, and not when the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is signed. Full article in freemalaysiatoday.com here
In the ruling, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) 1966 and its subsidiary laws were social legislation and that was a settled law.
Tengku Maimun said, “It is our view that the submission is untenable. When it comes to interpreting social legislation, the courts must give effect to the intention of Parliament and not the intention of parties.”
“Otherwise, the attempt by the legislature to level the playing field by mitigating the inequality of bargaining power would be rendered nugatory and illusory.”
Tengku Maimun said the courts would not countenance the bypassing of statutory safeguards meant to protect the purchasers.
“While the developers might think that it is a standard commercial practice to accept booking fees, the development of the law clearly suggests to the contrary.”
HBA secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said it was a landmark ruling and another victory for house buyers.
Do read Full article in freemalaysiatoday.com here
This is a landmark ruling and this meant that any future cases would all be decided based on the booking date yeah. I think many developers would be extremely serious with on-time delivery moving forward. Else, they better be prepared to pay should they lose in the court case. By the way, legislation is supposed to be fair to all parties. In this case, the court has said that if there are inequality in bargaining power, then legislation will level the playing field; making it fair to all. Happy buying since now there’s also the protection.
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