Illegal extensions put up by several ground floor residents at a block in Taman Pandan Jaya, Kuala Lumpur. — Filepic
TO tackle the increasing number of apartment owners who build extensions without permission, Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) Commissioner of Buildings (CoBKL) is currently working on compiling standard operating procedures (SOP).
DBKL Property Management and Valuation Department director Mohd Helmi Mohd Sany said contrary to what people thought, CoBKL had no power to act on illegal extensions, and neither did the joint management body (JMB).
“We cannot prosecute or take action against stratified unit owners who have violated rules. What more demolish the illegal structures,’’ Mohd Helmi said.
“Only the Enforcement Department has the power to act under the Street Drainage and Building Act 1974 and the Local Government Act 1976,’’ he added.
Mohd Helmi said if the illegal extension work was spotted early, then enforcement officers would issue a notice to the owner to remove the structure within 14 days.
But if the extension is already almost completed, it is very hard to demolish the structure.
Mohd Helmi added that it was quite common for unit owners, especially the ones on the ground floor, to build extensions like perimeter walls, gates, awnings, porches and gates beyond their parcel land or on the side and back of their stratified units.
“Often, when the extensions have already been completed, the owners will get away with their action on humanitarian grounds and in some cases, because of political interference,’’ he said.
Mohd Helmi: Our phones are ringing constantly and we have only 45 staff members to handle the complaints.
Getting away scot-free
Mohd Helmi also said that because of a technicality, many unit owners who violated the rules tend to get away scot-free.
“For instance, if the illegal structure is connected to a main building and if tearing down the extension is going to affect the integrity of the original structure, then the authorities will not be able to remove it.
“The unit owners can stop the demolition even though they broke the law,’’ said Mohd Helmi.
To ensure that this does not happen and to prevent illegal structures being constructed on fire exits or from blocking emergency services, the SOP is crucial.
“We have a team of legal experts, building surveyors, architects and engineers who are collaborating with the Enforcement Department to finalise the SOP,” he said, hoping to have something ready by the end of the year.
For the time being, Mohd Helmi appealed to residents to keep an eye on illegal renovations at their building and to report to the authorities quickly if they suspected anything out of the ordinary before it is too late.
“We have had cases where the culprit is the JMB chairman and he is not going to complain to the authorities,” he said.
COB’s role
The DBKL Property Management and Valuation Department’s COB was established in 2007 under the Building and Joint Property (Management and Maintenance) Act 2007 (Act 663) and Strata Ownership Act 1985 (Act 318).
It was empowered to resolve disputes on management and maintenance of stratified properties.
In Kuala Lumpur, the COB is the mayor.
However, as Kuala Lumpur continued to grow and more high-rises came up, the issues faced by residents became messy.
Hence, the Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757) came into force in 2015 to help overcome weaknesses and grey areas in former guidelines.
There are COBs in every state, and it was previously reported that there were more than 15,000 high-rises in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Kuala Lumpur has about 5,512 strata schemes, the highest in the country. And that’s a total of 762,922 strata units altogether.
“Out of a population of 1.9 million, 70% or 1.3 million people are staying in high-rises.
“So you can imagine the overwhelming amount of complaints we get in a day from the public,” he added.
Mohd Helmi said the phones would ring constantly and they had only 45 staff members in the department to handle the complaints.
He added that nine were officers while the rest were clerical staff.
Due to the heavy workload, the department was allowed to hire contract staff, but since 2018 there has been a freeze on hiring new staff.
Mohd Helmi also said that the public’s perception of the COB’s role was obscure.
“They think we are here to enforce and they have this expectation that once they complain to us, we will take action or find a solution.
“We are here to advise and mediate disputes.
“Sometimes, our officers who go to the site are not allowed into the premises even though we are there to verify facts,” he said.
Officers, he said, were assigned to specific zones and due to the overwhelming number of cases, they had to prioritise.
Up until July this year, over 5,252 cases have been brought to CoBKL for mediation.
Almost 50% of the issues revolve around annual general meetings and proxy matters.
Maintenance of facilities and building defects was the second biggest concern followed by administration and financial matters.
There were 189 complaints on general issues that are not addressed in the Act.
“These problems fall in the grey areas like noise and odour pollution, nuisance, rubbish and pets.
“There are also issues that touch on religious matters and need a softer approach to handle,” added Mohd Helmi.
