Compulsory land acquisition often sits at the crossroads of constitutional protection and statutory rigidity. While Article 13 of the Federal Constitution guarantees a fair and adequate compensation in the realm of land acquisition, that constitutional promise may collide with the procedural trapdoors embedded within the Land Acquisition Act 1960 (LAA 1960).   For a dissatisfied landowner, the path to contesting the Land Administrator's award is not a simple plea for equity b

Malaysia’s long-running tensions over short-term rental (STR) activity in strata developments have taken a significant turn, following a Court of Appeal ruling that clarifies the limits of management corporations’ powers and the status of private covenants seeking to restrict such use. The decision in Wawasan Raya Sdn Bhd v MARC Service Residence Management Corporation   [ 2025] 4 MLRA 1 provides some of the clearest judicial guidance yet in a sector where rapid growth of pla

In PJD Regency Sdn Bhd v Tribunal Tuntutan Pembeli Rumah & Ors and Other Appeals [2021] 2 CLJ 441, the Federal Court held that vacant possession delivery date is to be computed from the date of booking fee.   What would be the case where the booking fee was paid in the form of a cheque, which was not banked in by the Developer? The recent Court of Appeal in B.U. Development Sdn Bhd v Adeline Tan Kean Sim  [2025] CLJU 637 discusses this issue.     Facts   The purchaser gave th

The Urban Renewal Bill 2024 was tabled to provide a comprehensive and uniform legal framework to promote the mechanisms for urban redevelopment, regeneration and revitalisation. The Bill aims to align Malaysia's urban planning law with the objectives of sustainable development.   The Urban Renewal Bill 2024 is applicable to Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Labuan. The Bill is not applicable to the conservation area under the Heritage Act 2005.

Short term rental (STR) services such as Airbnb.com and Booking.com  have long presented a conundrum to strata communities. Generally speaking, property owners are free to deal with their property as they see fit, reflecting the adage that 'a man’s home is his castle.' However, in the context of strata developments, STR operations by select parcel owners may impose an undue burden on the development’s local community ranging from an increase in maintenance costs to private n

In Target Term Sdn Bhd v Waldorf and Windsor Management Corporation and Another appeal [2024] 6 MLJ 598, the Court of Appeal affirmed the validity of a commercial car park business using the car parks accessorised to an apartment unit. This decision overruled the earlier Court of Appeal decision in Ideal Advantage v Perbadanan Pengurusan Palm Spring @ Damansara [2020] 4 MLJ 93, which held that the use of such accessory car park parcels constitutes “dealing” which is prohibite

The Court of Appeal in Ideal City Development Sdn Bhd v Tribunal Pengurusan Strata Putrajaya, Wilayah Persekutuan considered the issue of whether the Strata Management Tribunal can grant an order to compel a developer to supply documents to an individual parcel owner in a stratified development. Facts The 2nd Respondent (the unit owner) filed a complaint against Appellant (the developer) with the 1st Respondent (the Strata Management Tribunal) alleging mismanagement of the ac

Unlike housing development projects that are under construction and governed by the Housing Development Act 1965 (HDA) and its subsidiary legislations, non-HDA governed development projects such as commercial or industrial projects are not required to use the statutory template sale and purchase agreement (SPA) set out in Schedules G to J in the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulation 1989. Therefore, the SPAs for non-HDA governed development projects tend to b

When a State Authority acquires a piece of land, it deprives the landowner of his property – but, it must do so in compliance with the law. Whilst the Land Acquisition Act 1960 (LAA 1960) allows for compulsory acquisition of lands, Article 13(2) of the Federal Constitution provides a constitutional safeguard to land owners to receive adequate compensation upon acquisition. The question then boils down to this – what is an adequate compensation? The principle of compensation i

The doctrine of indefeasibility of title is embodied in Section 340(1) of the National Land Code (NLC), which provides that the title or interest of any person for the time being registered as proprietor of any land shall be indefeasible. Indefeasibility, nevertheless, is not absolute or unqualified. Section 340(2) of the NLC specifies the circumstances where a registered title or interest may be set aside: (i) in any cause of fraud or misrepresentation to which the person or

When a person passes away, family members often have to grapple with the matter of administering the estate of the deceased. In a situation where there is a will, there is some certainty as to the entitlement of each of the beneficiaries to particular assets in the estate of the deceased. However, where there is no will (i.e. the person dies intestate), the question arises as to what are the rights and entitlements of the beneficiaries in relation to the estate?   The Court o

In land acquisition disputes, the right to adequate compensation is a fundamental guarantee under Article 13 of the Federal Constitution. This right is embedded into the procedures outlined in the Land Acquisition Act 1960 (LAA 1960). In respect of Section 40C of the LAA 1960, the Federal Court in Tegas Sejati Sdn Bhd v Pentadbir Tanah Dan Daerah Hulu Langat & Anor and Another Appeal [2024] 4 CLJ 1   brought to light the importance of transparency and fairness in land referen

The Federal Court in Au Kean Hoe v Persatuan Penduduk D’villa Equestrian  [2015] 4 MLJ 204 involves a case where the residents’ association implemented a policy to make non-paying residents operate the boom gates themselves without the assistance of security guards. The key question that arose before the Federal Court was whether the RA could impose such a policy which adversely affected the residents who fail or refuse to pay the relevant maintenance charges.   Brief Facts  

The Federal Court today delivered a unanimous decision in respect of issues on liquidated ascertained damages (LAD) claims post the Ang Ming Lee case . The unanimous decision in the case of Obata and Vignesh was made by a five-member bench led by the President of the Court of Appeal, YAA Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court Judges comprising YA Zabariah Mohd. Yusof, YA Dato’ Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, YA Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and YA Datuk Abdul Kari

Under the Strata Management Act 2013, the amount of maintenance charges and sinking fund to be paid is determined “in proportion to the allocated share units of each parcel”.   However, what happens if there are different types of parcels in a development, for example, a development consisting of residential units, retail units and a car park? Could a car park operator, who has no need to use the common facilities such as the swimming pool and gym, regularly used by residenti

When a developer fails to deliver vacant possession within the stipulated time as stated in the sale and purchase agreement (SPA), the calculation of liquidated ascertained damages (LAD) starts from the date of payment of the booking fee or any form of payment by a purchaser to a developer towards the purchase price of a property.   What would be the scenario if the SPA had been signed by the purchaser and booking fee has been paid to the developer, but the SPA had not been s

A caveat may be entered by the Registrar on the register document of land title to prohibit the enforcement of registration, endorsement, or entry on the register document of title thereto. A caveat is commonly used as a mechanism to protect purchasers’ interest prior to the completion of a sale and purchase agreement.   However, the issue is whether an agreement to purchase grants a purchaser the right to caveat a property?     In Loo Kian Aik & Anor v Aliran Raya Sdn Bhd &

Embarking on the complex journey of land ownership in Malaysia reveals a tapestry woven with historical, ethnic and legal intricacies. The Malay Reserve Land (MRL) initially introduced by the British Colonial administration was aimed to safeguard property rights for Malays. Bumi Lots then emerged from the National Economic Policy to address economic disparities among Bumiputera communities and others. Notably, the Kedah State Government introduced the intriguing policy of “Lo

Recently, RDS successfully represented the largest electricity provider in Malaysia in striking out a claim for alleged trespass over land which had already been compulsorily acquired by the State. In making its decision, the Sessions Court in Kota Bharu held that the plaintiff did not have the necessary locus standi to commence the claim despite possessing power of attorney as the subject matter land had already been compulsorily acquired and therefore, has vested in the Sta

This alert discusses the recent Court of Appeal ruling in Chrishanthini Angela Regina Sebastiampillai v View Esteem Sdn Bhd   [2023] 1 MLJ 309 on the defect liability clause. Brief Facts A sale and purchase agreement (SPA) in the statutory form as provided under the law was executed between by the Chrishanthini Angela Regina Sebastiampillai (the Appellant) and View Esteem Sdn Bhd (the Respondent). On 3.9.2012, the Respondent notified the Appellant that the vacant possession o