KUALA LUMPUR: The Residential Tenancy Act, which is aimed at addressing rental property issues, will be tabled in Parliament next year, said Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
The Local Government Development Deputy Minister said that his ministry was currently conducting a study on drafting the Residential Tenancy Act.
According to Akmal, among the objectives of this Bill was to serve as an institution to solve conflicts between those involved in disputes regarding rental properties.
“Some of the issues in this Bill were in regards to rental agreement, the responsibilities of renters and owners as well as enforcement,” said Akmal during Question Time in Parliament on Wednesday (March 29).
Akmal was responding to Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) who asked if there was a need to introduce a law to protect property owners from people who do not pay rent.
Akmal also said the proposed Bill would outline procedures as well as mechanisms to solve disputes in regards to issues pertaining to rental properties.
“This Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament next year,” added Akmal.
Akmal said that presently, there were no specific laws to address issues in the rental property sector.
“If there were issues, the agreement signed between the renter and owner will be referred to,” said Akmal.
“That is why, we are conducting a study on the drafting of the Residential Tenancy Act,” added Akmal.
Meanwhile, Akmal said there was a previous proposal of placing rental security deposits under the purview of the government, but it was rejected by owner and renters.
“Therefore, the proposal had to be looked into,” said Akmal.
Akmal added studies on the Residential Tenancy Agreement Act should be completed by this year.
It was reported that the Residential Tenancy Act was in its drafting stages beginning 2020.
The proposed Residential Tenancy Act was initially scheduled to be tabled in Parliament last year.
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Parliament, Residential Tenancy Act, draft, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
