KUCHING: The Sarawak Housing Buyers Claim Tribunal yesterday held a housing developer responsible in ten separate disputes in three cases.
The three-member panel led by its president Robert Elone Sireng, Simon Woon Ta Meng and Alhadi Ibrahim decided that Bodco Engineering and Construction Sdn Bhd was liable in the claim concerning the houses they built at Taman Samarindah in Kota Samarahan.
All ten disputes were over claims for replacement of chainlink fences in the claimants’ properties which are to be replaced with brick walls and mild steel (MS) grill fences.
The sales and purchase agreements on the properties stated that the fences should be MS grills but only the front fences are according to specifications whereas the others including the rear fences are chainlink types.
Based on the agreements, the claims were justified and the developer was ordered to install MS grill fences.
Additionally, two of the ten claimants also complained about defects which the developer had agreed to rectify.
“It was agreed between the buyers and developer that if any defects were discovered, the developer would be informed and the defects would be rectified,” said Sireng.
Among the disputes there was one case of Liquidated Ascertained Damage (LAD) for which the claimant was awarded RM2,884.44.
Sireng explained that the tribunal and the developer had agreed that there was a delay of 129 days in the handing over of the house to the buyer.
“The handover due date was 24 months after the date of signing the sales and purchase agreement which was March 16, 2018. The actual handover of the house was on July 25, 2018,” he said.
It is understood that the developer was given 30 days since the date of the hearing case to begin constitution and rectification of the defects, and payments to the claimants.
