More than 50 unapproved modifications detected to date
ISKANDAR Puteri City Council (MBIP) has detected 57 cases of unauthorised structural modifications within its jurisdiction since 2022, primarily involving commercial or residential properties illegally converted into high-density rental units.
Iskandar Puteri mayor Datuk Hasrin Kamal Hashim (pic) disclosed the figures – comprising 22 cases in 2022, 11 in 2023, eight in 2024, 15 in 2025, and one as of June 2026 – and warned that the city council was actively clamping down on non-compliant landlords.
“We take a serious view of illegal structural modifications to premises being used as rental rooms or hostels,” Hasrin Kamal told StarMetro.
He said MBIP continuously enforced rules based on monitoring, intelligence and public complaints, focusing heavily on high-risk areas.
“Enforcement is conducted through joint operations with other agencies, including the police, the Immigration Department and Labour Department,” he said.
Hasrin Kamal cited a joint operation on Sept 29 last year, where authorities took action against illegal workers’ dormitories operating without licence and in violation of safety rules at the Southern Industrial and Logistics Clusters (SiLC) industrial area in Gelang Patah.
“Action is taken against unauthorised renovations, under the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133),” he said, noting that key offences fall under Section 79 for illegal partitioning and Section 86 for nuisance.
Under the law, authorities can halt illegal construction, order the demolition of unauthorised structures and issue fines of up to RM250,000, along with an additional RM2,000 daily fine for ongoing non-compliance.
He said illegal renovation also took place in Taman Nusa Perintis, also in Gelang Patah.
To curb the problem moving forward, MBIP has implemented stricter policy controls.
“We no longer approve new worker hostels inside existing buildings, following a decision made during the one-stop centre committee meeting in October 2025,” said Hasrin Kamal.
He said the decision was made after considering safety, public health, development control, regulatory compliance and local community well-being.
According to him, the decision also took into account that the MBIP area already had enough centralised labour quarters (CLQ) to house workers safely and systematically.
He said businesses and employers would receive a list of approved CLQs, alongside notification letters to help them relocate their workers.
Meanwhile, MBIP is actively reviewing existing approvals to ensure compliance across the board.
“Out of 335 recorded applications to date, approval for 35 premises has been revoked after undergoing our review and evaluation process,” the mayor said.
