Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians have urged the government to withdraw its proposed amendments to the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents (VAEV) Act 1981 on the basis that the amendments would be detrimental to the various stakeholders.

Summing up the key effects into five pointers, Subang PKR member of Parliament R Sivarasa said among the main problems that would arise would be a monopoly ‘for valuers in property management’.

housing flats 050405 filled apartments flats "At the lowest scale for calculation, owners of the approximately two million stratified properties in the country would have to pay an additional RM3 to RM4 billion annually for fees which would be shared out amongst the only approximately 800 registered valuers currently," he said.

As the current owners of low and medium-cost apartments and flats-owners are already struggling to pay their existing maintenance fees, the suggested amendments are frustrating as the owners would have to fork out another RM67 per month for maintenance costs.

The amendments will also see the exclusion of other qualified professionals from managing real estate as the changes will allow only those registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Real Estate Managers to practice property management.

Also present at the press conference at the Parliament lobby today were Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (PAS-Bukit Gantang), Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani) and Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam).

Contradictory to other acts

Besides that, the proposed amendments to the VAEA Act would be in conflict with the Competition Act 2010 and Consumer Protection Act 1999, observed Sivarasa.

The amendments would additionally prevent property owners and joint-owners - such as management corporations, joint management bodies, complex owners, real estate investment trusts (Reits) and investors - from exercising their right to choose their own property management area.

NONE "The proposed amendments would take away the rights of these owners and the duties of the Commissioner of Buildings and conflicts with the duties and function of the joint management body as provided in the (other Acts) which gives owners the right to have the final say in the management of their own properties."

Sivarasa ( left ) argued that property owners should have the freedom to choose who managed their properties pointing out the amendments would result in a ‘brain drain of property management practitioners’.

"We understand that almost all our buildings in Malaysia are currently managed by non-valuers.

The proposed amendments would therefore result in job losses in the building management industry.

"We are already losing many experienced property managers to neighbouring countries," said Sivarasa adding that allowing the amendments would be contradictory to government efforts to reduce brain drain in the country.