COVER STORY /// 10
Has Wrongdoers even been prosecuted by the Housing Ministry ?
Nonetheless , there has been no reported prosecution in the Courts ( of Law ) against those housing developers and sale agents who flout this prohibition . No one has been prosecuted for this blatant disregard for the law , to the best of my knowledge . This fact has been declared to us by the enforcers ( of the laws ) ie the Ministry of Housing & Local Government during our frequent meetings with them . Enforcement is lax ; if there is any enforcement action taken save and except imposing a meagre ‘ compound fines ’ and a slap on the wrist . This led us to ponder whether a more systematic approach of regulating booking fees should be adopted in place of this absolute prohibition .
Since enforcement is lacking and lax and no one has been brought to Courts to be punished , then why not consider legitimizing collection of the ‘ booking fees ’?
Option to Purchase - Cooling-Off Period
For starters , a housing developer shall grant an option to purchase to
an intending purchaser in exchange for a reasonable deposit of a sum of money referred to as ‘ booking fee ’. A reasonable duration shall be given to the intending purchasers to freely consider whether to exercise the option to purchase the property or not . No penalty shall be imposed on the intending purchasers if they decide not to exercise the option within the option period .
There shall be at least a duration of thirty ( 30 ) days ( hereinafter referred to as the ‘ option period ’) from the date of collection of booking fee for intending purchasers to consider whether if they want to exercise the option to purchase the property . During the option period , a developer shall not accept any other booking
PROPERTY360DIGEST E-MAGAZINE ISSUE # 6