Positive response at briefing

Writer: Gan Pei Ling
http://www.selangortimes.com/index.php?section=news&permalink=Positive%20response%20at%20briefing

PETALING JAYA: Homeowners unsure of how to extend their 99-year leases were delighted to be able to renew titles during a briefing and registration exercise on Tuesday.

Lee, 60, told Selangor Times she came from Perak to renew the lease for her mother’s house in Section 1, Petaling Jaya.

“The lease is expiring in 12 years’ time, of course I must take advantage of this good opportunity to renew it,” the homemaker said.

Azizah Rashid, 52, complimented the authorities for organising the public briefing at the Arena Sports Complex as the new Petaling District Office in Shah Alam U5 is out of the way.

“This is much more convenient for us,” said the home- maker, who owns a house in Section 3, Petaling Jaya with her husband.

She found out about the registration exercise via a flyer distributed in her housing area as this Private Residential Ownership Scheme initiated by Selangor was not widely reported in the mainstream press. Under the scheme, property owners can opt to pay RM1,000 instead of the full premium to extend their leasehold titles, and are only required to pay the remaining premium when they sell or transfer their properties.

This is to encourage private residential owners to keep their properties.

Alternatively, owners can choose to pay the full premium within six months of their application approval and receive a 30% discount.

Petaling chief assistant district officer Yahaya Hassan said property owners can find out whether their applications are approved after a month.

“After we receive their applications, the Department of Land Evaluation will determine the premium based on the land’s market price,” said Yahaya.

He added that a similar registration exercise had been conducted last week on Sept 21 and 22 at the same venue, which attracted a few hundred people to inquire about the scheme, and 80 applications for lease extension.

The public briefing-cum-registration exercises were organised by the Petaling District Office and the offices of Bukit Gasing assembly person Edward Lee and Taman Medan assembly person Hanizah Talha.

Hanizah said they plan to organise it again next month on a weekend for the public’s convenience.