Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966

This Act may be cited as the Housing Development (Control and

(Omitted).

This Act shall apply only in Peninsular Malaysia.

(Deleted by Act A1142).

The Minister may by order published in the Gazette exempt any housing developer or housing accommodation from any or all of the provisions of this Act and such exemption may be granted for such duration as may be specified in the order, and may be made subject to such limitations, restrictions or conditions as the Minister may specify in the order.

The Minister may at any time by order published in the Gazette, revoke any exemption granted by him under subsection (2).

The provisions of this Act which relate to a company shall be construed as in addition or supplementary to, and not in derogation from, the provisions of any written law relating to companies.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“bank” means any bank licensed under the Banking and Financial

Institutions Act 1989 [Act 372] or under the Islamic Banking Act 1983

[Act 276];

“body of persons” means a group of persons, not being an incorporated body or group;

“certificate of completion and compliance” means the certificate of completion and compliance given or granted under the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 [Act 133] and any by-laws made under that Act certifying that the housing accommodation has been completed and is safe and fit for occupation but does not include partial certificate of completion and compliance;

“company” means any company incorporated, formed or registered under any written law for the time being in force in Malaysia relating to companies, and includes any body corporate established under any written law in force in Malaysia;

“Controller” means the Controller of Housing appointed under section 4;

“Deputy Controller” means the Deputy Controller of Housing appointed under section 4;

“finance company” means any finance company licensed under the

Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989;

“firm” means an unincorporated body of persons (whether consisting of individuals or of corporations or partly of individuals and partly of corporations) associated together for the purpose of carrying on business;

Housing Development (Control and Licensing) 9

“housing accommodation” includes any building, tenement or messuage which is wholly or principally constructed, adapted or intended for human habitation or partly for human habitation and partly for business premises and such other type of accommodation as may be prescribed by the

Minister from time to time to be a housing accommodation pursuant to section 3A;

“housing developer” means any person, body of persons, company, firm or society (by whatever name described), who or which engages in or carries on or undertakes or causes to be undertaken a housing development, and in a case where the housing developer is under liquidation, includes a person or body appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the provisional liquidator or liquidator for the housing developer;

“housing development” means to develop or construct or cause to be constructed in any manner whatsoever more than four units of housing accommodation and includes the collection of moneys or the carrying on of any building operations for the purpose of erecting housing accommodation in, on, over or under any land; or the sale of more than four lots of land or building lots with the view of constructing more than four units of housing accommodation;

“Housing Development Account” means an account opened and maintained by a licensed housing developer pursuant to section 7A;

“housing lot” means any piece of land surveyed or otherwise, to which a lot number has been assigned to it and which is subject to the category “building”

in accordance with the National Land Code 1965 [Act 56 of 1965];

“Inspector” means an inspector appointed under section 4;

“licence” means a licence granted under section 5;

“licensed housing developer” means any housing developer licensed under section 5 to engage in or carry on or undertake a housing development and includes the holder of any power of attorney of such housing developer duly created under the Powers of Attorney Act 1949

[Act 424];

“local authority” includes any person or body of persons appointed or authorized under any written law to exercise and perform the powers and

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duties which are conferred and imposed on a local authority under any written law;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act, and where no mode is mentioned means prescribed from time to time by order published in the Gazette;

“purchaser” means any person who purchases housing accommodation or who has any dealing with a licensed housing developer in respect of the acquisition of housing accommodation;

“stakeholder” means any solicitor holding moneys as stakeholder for payment to a housing developer pursuant to sale and purchase agreements in respect of a housing development which the housing developer is engaged in, carries on or undertakes or causes to be undertaken;

“Tribunal” means the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims established under section 16B.

The Minister may, from time to time, by order published in the

In the event of any doubt as to whether a housing accommodation falls within the meaning of this Act, the Minister’s decision shall be final and shall not be questioned in any court.

For the purpose of this Act, the Minister may appoint a Controller of Housing and such number of Deputy Controllers of Housing, Inspectors of Housing and other officers and servants as the Minister may deem fit from amongst members of the public service.

The Controller and Deputy Controllers shall have and may exercise any of the powers conferred on an Inspector by or under this Act.

The Controller may, in writing, delegate all or any of his powers or functions under this Act, except his power of delegation, to any Deputy

Without prejudice to subsection (2), the Controller may, in writing, delegate any of his powers and functions under this Act in respect of the investigation of offences under this Act and the enforcement of this Act to any public officer or officer of a local authority.

Any delegation under subsection (3) or (4) may be revoked at any time by the Controller and does not prohibit the Controller from himself exercising the powers or performing the functions so delegated.