Datuk Chua Soon Ping, the president of the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda), has recently made a statement regarding the issuance of the Occupancy Certificate (OC) for the One Jesselton Condominium project in Kepayan. He has echoed the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Deputy Permanent Secretary Stanley Chong’s stance on the matter, stating that there should be no objection to issuing the OC for the project.
Chua emphasized that the City Hall of Kota Kinabalu (DBKK) cannot impose new conditions, such as a ceiling height headroom of 2.3 meters, retrospectively for buildings that have already been completed. He pointed out that the approved building plan for the project specified a height of three meters from floor to ceiling, which has been complied with by the development. Chua also mentioned that the Building By-Law only relates to the ground floor and not the lower ground floor, as there was no such structure space built in the 1950s.
Furthermore, Chua highlighted that the Uniform Building By-Laws 2022 are not enforceable in the DBKK jurisdiction, as the city has never officially adopted them. He stressed that any mishaps in such incidents in the future would make the submitting person, professional consultants, developers, and others involved liable and responsible. Chua expressed hope that the matter would be resolved amicably to end the prolonged wait of nine years or more for the buyers of the condominium.
Shareda has urged DBKK to implement the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) instead of the OC immediately, so that the industry can move forward. Chua pointed out that the delayed issuance of questionable OCs has caused distress to both owners and developers, resulting in extra interest charges for house buyers, banks, and Liquidated Ascertained Damages charges, respectively.
Buyers of the One Jesselton Condominium project have been eagerly awaiting a resolution to the issue, and a recent meeting at the office of the Local Government and Housing Ministry has provided some hope. Chong, who chaired the meeting, stated that the OC for the condominium should be issued, despite DBKK’s previous reluctance due to alleged non-compliance with the required car park height.
In conclusion, the situation surrounding the issuance of the OC for the One Jesselton Condominium project in Kepayan has been a source of concern for both buyers and developers. With stakeholders like Datuk Chua Soon Ping and Shareda advocating for a resolution, there is hope that the matter will be resolved in a fair and timely manner, allowing the industry to move forward and providing relief to all parties involved.