PETALING JAYA: The public should act as the eyes and ears of the local authorities to help tackle the issue of bird’s nest accommodation and prevent any untoward incident, say councillors.
Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) Zone 16 councillor Lee Jen Uyin said information from the ground is crucial to alert the authorities to the existence of illegally partitioned premises.
“Without the information supplied by the people, it is difficult for MBSJ to identify these premises. One of the indicators that can be observed is the number of vehicles parked inside and outside a particular premises.
“If there are about 10 cars parked around a house, it is very likely that there are a lot of people living there, which could indicate that the house is illegally partitioned,” she said.
In her zone, Lee said the issue of illegal partitions usually happens in shophouses, where the ground floors are used as shops, and the upper floors are used as accommodation for foreign workers.
“We have received complaints about this in areas such as Pusat Bandar Puchong. On and off, we also received complaints regarding illegal partitions in landed houses, where the partitioned rooms were rented to students and working bachelors.
“I believe that this issue also happens in some low-cost flats, but so far, we haven’t received any complaints,” she added.
She said that once it receives complaints, MBSJ will issue notices to the owners to restore their premises within a certain period.
“If this is not complied with, MBSJ will go in and demolish the illegal partitions,” she said.
Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Zone 7 councillor Leong Chee Cheng also said MBPJ would usually act upon receiving complaints about the illegally partitioned premises.
“The council can’t inspect the premises one by one as it could lead to complications,” he said.
In his zone, Leong said some owners modified their houses to rent out the partitioned rooms to students. He emphasised that owners must apply for a permit from MBPJ before modifying their houses.
“The minimum permitted size of a room is 100 sq ft.
“If this is not complied with, MBPJ will issue notices to the houseowners, ordering them to modify their houses to meet the requirements within a certain period. If the houseowners fail to follow this order, MBPJ can then take enforcement actions.
“An enforcement operation will usually involve several departments such as the Building Control Department, Health and Environment Services Department as well as Licensing Department,” he said.
