KUALA LUMPUR City Hall (DBKL) should make public consultation mandatory before approving applications to convert residences into commercial premises, residents’ groups say.
Kuala Lumpur Residents Action for Sustainable Development (KLRA-SD) honorary secretary Joshua Low said the move would align current practice with the mayor’s assurances that public feedback was considered.
At present, neighbour consultation remains discretionary.
The call follows comments by Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Fadlun Mak Ujud regarding commercial activities in residential areas.
He said under Classes of Use of Land and Buildings (CULB) 2025 guidelines, small-scale businesses could operate from homes via temporary change-of-use approvals.
Fadlun, responding to StarMetro queries on the conversion of residential properties, maintained that applications must meet technical standards and pass without public objection under Rule 3 engagement procedures.
However, Rule 3 of Federal Territory (Planning) Rules 2025 leaves it to the mayor’s discretion whether to notify surrounding property owners.
“Legally or administratively, it is not a ‘must’ for DBKL to consult surrounding residents for every such application,” Low noted.
“If DBKL genuinely intends to seek residents’ views, it should amend the rules to make Rule 3 notices mandatory for every planning permission application.
“It should not depend on whether the mayor considers consultation necessary,” he said.
Low said while Kuala Lumpur Local Plan 2040 (PTKL2040) listed 17 potential non-residential uses in primary residential zones, ranging from offices and tuition centres to cafes, these remained conditional rather than automatic.
High-impact operations that generate traffic or disturb the neighbourhood, like eateries and places of worship, still require full planning consent.
In practice, however, Low said residents in several areas reported that businesses had opened without any public notices being posted or consultations taking place.
“The lack of Rule 3 notices makes residents wonder whether any applications are even made to DBKL for the change of use,” he said.
He also urged DBKL to specify the exact parameters of a “temporary change of use”, including fixed permit durations, renewal criteria and clear grounds for revocation.
As most conditional approvals stipulate that a business must not create a public nuisance, DBKL retained the authority to withdraw permits if traffic, noise or parking problems developed, he said when responding to StarMetro’s frontpage report, “KL residents reeling from rise in home-run businesses” on Sept 7.
Save Kuala Lumpur chairman Datuk M. Ali backed the demand for mandatory public consultation, stating that local authorities had a duty to safeguard residential living standards.
“People buy or rent homes believing they will be able to live there in peace.
“Surely protecting that quality of life is one of the most basic responsibilities of local government,” said Ali.
He stressed that even one complaint deserved investigation.
“A problem does not become insignificant because only one person has complained.
“That resident may be the person living next door and putting up with the smoke, noise, traffic or parking problems every day.”
Pointing to Sections 80 to 82 of Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171) which require local councils to consider public nuisance, including excessive fumes and noise, Ali called on City Hall to enforce its existing powers.
“Government is not only there to approve applications and issue licences.
“It is also there to protect the living environment of the people it serves.
“Residents are not asking to control somebody else’s property.
“They are asking for a say when the use of that property begins to affect life inside their own homes,” he emphasised.
