Cheap rentals but at what cost

SHOEBOX, bird’s nest, capsules – call it what you want, but the practice of dividing, sub-dividing and partitioning small spaces that are then rented out as rooms has been going on for quite some time.

The recent expose of a three-storey shoplot in Taman Maluri, Cheras, that had been partitioned into 78 shoebox rooms should not come as a surprise because unscrupulous landlords have been acting with impunity right under the noses of the local authorities.

“These are not rooms, but more like cages or coffins,” said Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming, who led the raid on the shoplot last week.

Nga, who led a team of officers from his ministry together with officials from the Fire and Rescue Department and Kuala Lumpur City Hall, described the living conditions of the premises as “worse than a refugee camp”.

These rooms were partitioned into lower and upper levels, with ladders fitted to allow tenants to climb to their rooms above. The rooms were so narrow that one could only crawl in instead of walking in.

They lacked windows, with a mere small hole in the wall for ventilation. Each room was sparsely furnished, consisting only of a mattress, a pillow, a lightbulb and a power point.

Inhumane conditions: One of the rooms in the three-storey shoplot in Taman Maluri, Cheras, that was raided last week.

While each tenant paid about RM300 monthly for a shoebox room, there were bigger rooms on the second and third floors with better furnishing, likely fetching higher rent.

The owner of the shoplot could easily make RM25,000 a month based on the above figure, so the question we should be asking is how on earth have the local authorities failed to act against this clear violation of so many laws?

And this is even before you consider that the entire shoplot is a potential fire hazard.

In November 1996, four young people perished in a fire at a double-storey house in Section 17, Petaling Jaya. They were occupants of a premises that had been converted into a multi-room hostel.

The original house had only four rooms but had been converted into a nine-room hostel.

Following this tragedy, The Star ran a series of investigative articles into the practice of converting houses and shoplots into “hostels”.

The then Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (now City Council) president revealed that in Section 17 alone where the fire occurred, 68 houses were found to have been illegally converted.

If that wasn’t shocking enough, a few days after the tragedy, council officers discovered a double-storey detached house in Sungai Way which had been converted into a 24-room hostel, housing more than 100 factory workers.

Yes, let that sink in – more than 100 workers in a single double-storey house!

Eventually, the council identified Sri Setia in Sungai Way, Section 5, Section 14, Section 17, Jalan Klang Lama, Kampung Tunku, SS2 and SS3 as the hotspots for this inhumane practice of turning houses into cramped living spaces.

The scary thing was many of these establishments had been renting out their shoebox rooms for years without being detected.

History seems to be repeating itself now because I believe the Cheras incident is the tip of the iceberg.

The demand for “cheap” accommodation among students, factory workers and foreign workers appears to be fuelling the rise of these bird’s nest facilities.

In Cheras, Nga compared the rooms to coffins and called on the premises owner to surrender to the police.

He later said his ministry had identified other locations and vowed to take stern action against owners who rent out such rooms.

The net should be cast wide, because it is not only commercial property that is being misused but checks also show that residential unit owners have carried out illegal renovations on their properties without seeking approval from the authorities.

There are enough legal provisions for the book to be thrown at these unscrupulous owners.

Premises must comply with the guidelines and specifications set by the Fire and Rescue Department as well as the relevant local authorities.

This could include the issuance of a fire hazard removal notice under Section 8 of Act 341 (Fire Services Act 1988), providing an appropriate period for premises owner to comply.

Owners can also be charged under Sections 70 (12) and 72 (1) of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1976 for misusing the building and carrying out illegal extensions.

And finally, they can be charged under Section 78 of the Local Government Act for allowing their houses to be overcrowded.

The onus is also on the public to notify the authorities of these illegal hostels.

Perhaps the Local Government Development Ministry should initiate a hotline or portal specifically for cases such as these to be reported in.

The Taman Maluri shoplot is not an isolated case.

Armed with the existing legal provisions, it is incumbent on the ministry plus the 13 local government authorities in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur to crack down on clear health and safety violations.