House owners are now required to complete the renovation works within a year of the date the renovation plan is approved, says Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
According to The Star, DBKL Building Control Department director Norizan Sulaiman said starting from early this year, all house renovation plans approved by the council would be valid for a year.
Norizan said the ruling was approved by the One-Stop Centre (OSC) committee which is headed by mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah.
“If house owners fail to complete renovations within a year of the date of approval, they will have to apply to renew the plan.”
“But they must give a very good reason to convince the OSC,” she said, adding that the plan could only be renewed up to 3 times.
She also said that a processing fee of RM100 will be charged on each application.
Before this ruling, the Uniform Building By-Law 1984 does not provide a time frame for renovations to be completed.
Norizan explained that this came about because some homeowners took years to complete renovations and the City Hall has received several complaints on the nuisance brought about by never-ending renovations.
“It did not seem fair for people to have to put up with the endless hacking and the dangers of dust pollution,” she added.
In the past, those affected by their neighbour’s renovation could take action under the Local Government Act if it has became a safety issue.
Those affected could lodge a complaint with DBKL, and the local authority could then compel the house owner to fix the repairs caused by his or her construction.
Alternatively, affected residents could also take a civil suit or even sue the local authority to compel them to take action.
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