Lo Khere Chiang: Taman Hillside a lesson for OP violators
Daud (second left) presenting the OP to a resident of Taman Hillside, witnessed by Lo Khere Chiang (left).
This is even more so if it were done on a flat because the whole structure might collapse, thus harming the unit owner and all occupants in the flat, he said.
“Home owners who wish to extend their homes should get a permit from the council to ensure what they are modifying or adding on will not affect the building’s structure. We are stressing on the safety of the building,” said Lo at the Occupation Permit (OP) handing-over ceremony for Taman Hillside residents at Sinar Serapi Eco Theme Park Resort yesterday.
He pointed out that this was one of the causes that led to residents there not getting their OP.
“OP for a building will only be issued if all the stipulated requirements under By-Law 21(1) (a) and (b) of the Fourth Schedule of Building Ordinance 1994 have been fulfilled. The council has written to the developer on November 2004 and advised them on the offence to occupy a building without a permit and the offence of letting out and sale of unauthorised building.
“Unfortunately, the developer failed to adhere to the council’s advice and continued to allow the purchasers to occupy the houses even when the developer is aware that no OP has been issued.”
Without an OP, the residents faced complications and hardship in getting electricity and water supply to their homes, he said.
Since 2004, after a few dialogue sessions with the developer and residents of Taman Hillside, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development finally agreed for the council to issue OP to the first batch of 61 terrace houses this year. For the next batch, it will be done individually from time to time, he said.
A total of 315 unit owners in Taman Hillside were affected by the no-OP issuance. They were mainly flat units and also terrace houses.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman said the remainder of the unit owners might get their OP next year.
“We will work together with the council to ensure everyone gets their OP by 2015. This is our target.”
Daud, also Tupong assemblyman, said this was the main problem faced in his constituency.
He said for those who did illegal extensions, the council would look at it first, and if it affected the structure of the building, it would be dismantled. If it were minor, it might be approved.
“We will look for a solution without compromising the safety of the people. This is because should the building collapsed, they will blame the council.”
That said, he urged housing developers to follow all requirements before they started building. He hoped the Taman Hillside episode would be a lesson to developers because it would greatly affect the buyers.
The Taman Hillside project started in 1999 and normally took two years to complete.
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