The government should quickly resolve the quandary in which housebuyers have found themselves, following yesterday's landmark ruling that the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims is not empowered to hear cases if the purchases predated its inception last December.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court decision not only barred the tribunal from hearing any of the 2,209 backlog cases, but also effectively nullified awards amounting to some RM2.3 million, granted to more than 438 buyers.

All the disputes filed with the tribunal so far involve houses purchased before December 2002.