购房者应该了解房屋发展法令（HDA）的哪些内容？Housing Development Act (HDA): 6 Things Malaysian home buyers should know

许多首购或新房屋一族并不知道他们的利益其实受到了房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）的保护。这些保护措施包括了制定房屋缺陷保修期、分层地契问题的管理和针对应对不道德发展商的保护措施。

为此，为了让大家更了解此法令给予购屋者的保障，我们将在本文中，列出有关房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）以及其对购房者所提供保护的数个常见问题，让大家可以了解其能为购屋者带来的保护。

Many first/new home buyers are not aware that their interests are protected under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (HDA). Protections include formulate defect liability period, management of strata title issues and safeguard against unscrupulous developers.

Therefore, we select some frequently asked questions about the HDA and how it protects the first/new home buyers throughout their home ownership.

1. 什么是房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）？What is the Housing Development Act (HDA)?

在特定时期内，房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）会针对发展商而维护住宅产业买家的利益。只要你从有执照的发展商处购买房产，你就能受到房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）的保护。此外，分层地契房产的购买者也将受到分层地契法令（Strata Title Act 1985）和分层地契管理法令（Strata Management Act 2013）的保护。

The HDA protects the interests of buyers of primary market residential properties against developers for a specific period. As long as you are buying a property from a licensed developer, you would come under the protection of the HDA. Additionally, buyers of stratified property would also be protected under the Strata Title Act 1985 as well as the Strata Management Act 2013.

2. 房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）对购房者有哪些保护？What are the home buyer protections under the HDA?

2.1 强制性的发展执照及广告与销售准证 （APDL）

房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）确保只有获得执照的发展商才能宣传它们发展的产业项目。发展执照及广告与销售准证 （APDL）是由当地房屋部门当局授予发展商的广告准证。有了发展执照及广告与销售准证 （APDL），发展商将会受到当局的严格监控，以确保发展商遵守条例。如果在出售项目产业期间出现问题，购买者将能够针对发展商寻求法律诉讼。

2.1 Mandatory Advertising Permit and Developer’s License (APDL)

The HDA ensures that only licensed developers can advertise their property. The Advertising Permit and Developer’s License (APDL) is an advertising license given by the local housing authority to developers. With the ADPL, developers are closely monitored by the authorities to ensure compliance with rules. Buyers would be able to seek legal action against the developer if something goes wrong during the sale of a property.

2.2 缺陷保修期

另一个保障就是对于新建房产的缺陷保修期。房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）规定，当你接收你的房产开始，缺陷保修期将持续24个月。如果你发现新的房产存在着严重裂缝、漏水或缺陷，你有最多两年的时间能将它报告给发展商，并获得免费维修。

2.2 Defect Liability Period

Another protection is a warranty period (defect liability period) of newly built properties. The HDA states that the defect liability period would run for 24 months from the moment you receive the keys to your property. Should you discover major cracks, leaks or defects in your new property, you have up to two years to report them to the developer and have them repaired at no cost to you.

2.3 房屋发展帐户（房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）帐户）

发展商必须为每个住宅发展项目开设并维持一个房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）帐户。为什么这对买家很重要？房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）会确保发展商将从购房者所收到的付款转入到它的房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）帐户中。这些钱将用于支付各类款项例如地税、门牌税、各项税款、印花税、保险费、顾问费和建筑成本。

这意味着如果你已经按照预定的向发展商付款（根据买卖合约），发展商不得另外再向你收取那些款项的费用。

Housing Development Account (HDA Account)

Developers must open and maintain an HDA account for each of their residential developments. Why is this significant to buyers? The HDA makes sure that developers channel payments received from buyers into their HDA account. Those monies would then be used to pay for items such as quit rent, assessment rates, levy charges, stamp duty, insurance premiums, consultant fees and costs of construction.

This means developers cannot turn around and charge you for any of those items separately if you are already making the scheduled payments (under the Sale and Purchase Agreement) to them.

3. 在缺陷保修期内，购房者应该检查些什么？What should home buyers check for during the defect liability period?

签收房屋的钥匙之后，检查你房子的每个角落确定是否有裂缝、固定装置和配件是否有瑕疵以及地砖、门和窗户边缘是否移位，并尽快反映给发展商。这些缺陷不能仅仅只是表面的裂纹，还必须是可能影响到房屋结构性的缺陷。

买方不应在缺陷保修期内进行装修，因为这可能会使缺陷恶化，也使得发展商不愿意承担维修费用。对于在缺陷保修期限内转售的房产，卖方必须将在缺陷保修期限内的索赔权转让给买方，以便买方能够使用缺陷保修索赔。

After receiving the keys to your property, go around and inspect every nook and cranny for cracks, defects in the fixtures and fittings, and misaligned floor tiles, doors and window edges, and report them to your developer as soon as possible. Those defects must not be merely surface cracks but must be one which could affect the foundation of the property.

Buyers should not carry out renovation during the defect liability period as it may worsen defects and developers may not be willing to cover the costs of repair. In the case of a property sale during a defect liability period, the seller must transfer the right to claim under the defect liability period to the new owner to enable the new owner to utilize the defect liability claim.

4. 如果发展商在保修期内拒绝修复缺陷，房主可以做什么？What can homeowners do if developers refuse to repair defects during the liability period?

根据房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA），法律要求发展商提供相当于买卖合约价格的5%做为保留金。这笔款项将由一家律师事务所负责保留。如果发展商没有在一个时间范围内修复缺陷，那么这笔款项就能用于修复缺陷。

那些难以让发展商维修他们房子的买家应通过房屋仲裁庭提出索赔。仲裁庭通常处理有关于建筑工艺不良、迟获得入伙纸、退还抵押金和迟交屋的赔偿金（LAD）有关的索赔。

但是，仲裁庭的裁判权仅限于判决不超过RM50,000的赔偿。在许多情况下，考虑到材料和人工成本的上升，这个数额是不足够的。必要时，仲裁庭将派遣其技术人员小组对特定的房产进行视察，并评估其缺陷和维修费用。

有意对发展商提出索赔的购房者可以在马来西亚房屋及地方政府部（KPKT）的网站上找到相关的表格与程序。

对于分层地契房产，房主除了可以向房屋仲裁庭提出索赔外，还可以通过马来西亚房屋及地方政府部向分层地契管理仲裁庭提出，例如公共资产的缺陷或发展商未能调查缺陷的问题索赔公共资产的维修费用可以从房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）规定的保留金额中索取，也可以从建筑物委员会处索取额外的保留金额。

Under the HDA, developers are legally required to provide a retention sum equivalent to 5% of the SPA price. This money will be held by a law firm. If the developer fails to repair the defects within a time frame, the money can be used for this purpose.

Buyers who are having difficulty getting a developer to repair their homes should submit a claim through the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims. This tribunal commonly deals with claims relating to defective workmanship, late delivery of vacant possession of the property, refund of deposit, and payment of liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD).

However, the tribunal’s jurisdiction is limited to giving an award of not more than RM50,000. In many cases, this amount is insufficient given the rising costs of material and labour. Where necessary, the tribunal will send its team of technical personnel to visit a subject property and assess the defects and the repair costs.

Home buyers who wish to start a claim against the developer can find the relevant forms and procedures on the Ministry of Housing and Local Government’s (KPKT) website.

For strata properties, in addition to submitting claims with the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims, home owners can also submit claims with the Strata Management Tribunal through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government for problems such as defects to common properties or failure of the developer to investigate defects. The cost of repairs of common properties is claimable from the retention sum under the HDA as well as an additional retention sum through the Commissioner of Buildings.

5. 如果房产未受到房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）的保护,将会发生些什么事？What happens if a property is not protected under the HDA?

商业产业例如小型灵活办公室（SoFos）和小型多功能办公室（SoVos）、办公室空间、零售与工业单位和二手产业都不受房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）保护（快速判断产业是否受到房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）的保护，取决于是否使用标准的买卖合约—— 附表G用于有地房产或附表H用于高层房产）。

尽管如此还是有些例外。尽管服务式公寓和小型家庭办公室（SoHos）均建在商业土地上并具有商业地契，但这些房产是住宅用途的，因此还是被视为住宅房屋。虽然受到房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）的保护，但某些费用例如，地税、门牌税和水电费将可能以商业率收费，因此，与住宅用地上建造的单位相比，这笔费用也将会更高。没有受到房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）保护的房产买家可以从非标准买卖合约的条款与条件中找到补救和保护措施，该合约规范了非房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）房产的销售交易。建议非房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）下的购房者就买卖合约咨询律师。如果出现缺陷或延迟交房，买方将需要将发展商或卖方告上法庭，以要求赔偿。

Commercial properties such as small office/flexible office (SoFos) and small office/versatile office (SoVos), office spaces, retail and industrial units, and secondary market properties do not come under the protection of the had (a quick way to tell if a property is protected under the HDA is if it uses the standard Sale and Purchase Agreement – Schedule G for landed properties or Schedule H for high-rise properties).

There are some exceptions however. Although serviced apartments and small office/home office (SoHos) are built on commercial land and bear commercial titles, these properties are residential-purposed and are therefore considered housing accommodation. While they do come under the protection of the HDA, certain expenses such as quit rent, assessment rates and utilities may be charged commercial rates and as such, would be more expensive compared to units built on residential lands.

Purchasers of properties not protected by the HDA may find remedies and protection from the terms and conditions in the non-standard Sale and Purchase Agreement which governs the sale of non-HDA properties. Buyers of non-HDA properties are recommended to consult a lawyer regarding the Sale and Purchase Agreement. In the event of defects or late delivery, buyers would need to take the developer or seller to court to receive compensation.

6. 全新的新冠肺炎法案将对房屋发展（管制及执照）法令（HDA）进行修改

2020年3月18日实施的行动管制令（MCO）使得建筑业陷入停顿，影响了许多住宅开发项目的完工与交房期限。

意识到这将对发展商与购房者都会产生影响，一项被称为2020年减少新冠肺炎影响临时措施法案在2020年8月15人在下议院被通过了。根据该法案，对16项法规进行了追溯性修改，以在新冠肺炎大流行期间提供暂时的缓解。该法案仍需经过上议院的批准，之后将在宪报上刊登并作为法律公布。预计新法案将在10月开始实施。

对于购房者有利的是，这项法案禁止发展商在2020年3月18日至8月31日之间向买家征收未付的房产分期付款的延迟付款罚金。政府还表示，如果有迹象表明买家需要更多时间来交付款项，政府则可能指示发展商将这一期限延长至2020年12月31日。

该法案也征求将3月18日至8月31日的时间排除在缺陷保修期的计算范围之外。这意味着购房者不能针对原本预定在这段时期内完成的房产要求迟交屋的赔偿金。对于3月18日之前提出的缺陷保修索赔，开发商可以在8月31日之后进行维修工作。

这虽然能让发展商暂时不打扰购房者，也能暂停缺陷保修期以却保不会因证行动管制令（MCO）而造成没有足够的时间完成保修，但实际情况是，许多正在进行房屋发展的完成期将被推迟，购房者将无法按时获得钥匙和入伙纸。

自4月15日以来，获得批准的房地产发展商已经被允许恢复建筑工程，但许多发展商还是由于行动管制令（MCO）的原因向马来西亚房屋及地方政府部提出延长期限（EOT）的申请。一般而言，原本应该要在行动管制令（MCO）期间交房的房屋发展项目和那些预计在9月30日之前获得完工认可证书（CCC）的项目，都可能被批准延长期限（EOT）至2020年12月31日。一旦获得批准，购买者都将不能在12月31日之前向发展商提出迟交屋赔偿金。

延期的批准将由房屋部根据具体的情况而决定，买家也将通过挂号信被通知将延迟获得入伙纸。

The Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented on 18 March 2020 brought the construction sector to a grinding halt, affecting the completion and delivery of many new housing developments.

Recognising the impact this would have on both developers and home buyers, a new bill called The Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Bill 2020 was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 25 August 2020. Under the bill, 16 areas of legislation were modified retrospectively to provide temporary relief during the Covid-19 pandemic. The bill still has to go through the House of Senate for assent, after which it will be gazetted and published as law. It is anticipated that the new bill will be implemented in October.

Of specific interest to home buyers is the fact that the bill prohibits developers from imposing late payment charges on buyers for unpaid property instalments from 18 March to 31 August 2020. The government has also indicated it may direct developers to extend this duration to 31 December 2020 if there is indication buyers require additional time to fork out the monies.

The bill also seeks to exclude the period of 18 March-31 August from the calculation of the defect liability period. This means property purchasers cannot claim for LAD for properties scheduled to be completed during that period. For defect liability claims made before 18 March, developers may carry out repair works after 31 August.

While this helps buyers keep developers off of their backs and provides a temporary pause in the defect liability period to ensure it would not accidentally run short because of the MCO, the reality of the situation is that completion of many ongoing housing developments would be delayed and buyers would not be able to obtain the keys and vacant possession of their properties on time.

Since 15 April, property developers who have obtained the necessary approvals have been allowed to resume construction work although many have been applying to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government for an extension of time (EOT) due to the MCO. Generally, housing developments which were supposed to have been delivered during the MCO and those expected to receive Certificates of Completion and Compliance before 30 September may expect to be granted an EOT up to 31 December 2020. Once granted, purchasers would be restricted from seeking LAD against the developer up to 31 December.

Approval for the extension will be determined by the Ministry of Housing on a case-by-case basis and buyers would be notified by registered mail on the late delivery of their vacant possessions.