But what is a CCC? Who is a PSP and what is their role in this process? What is the difference between a CCC and a CFO? And most importantly, why is the CCC process critical for a building’s construction?

This article will answer all the above.

The CCC is a certificate proving that a building is well-constructed and safe for occupation. It is mandatory for all buildings, both residential and commercial, to obtain a CCC before they can legally operate.

A Principal Submitting Person (PSP) completes the CCC and is a registered industry professional who is in charge of overseeing the overall construction of the building. The PSP is typically an engineer, architect, or a profession related to the construction industry.

The PSP’s duties include submitting building plans to local governments (also known as pihak berkuasa tempatan or PBT), keeping the PBT updated on when construction begins, as well as acting as a supervisor for all construction work. They are also responsible for reporting any breaches of plans or regulations, providing consultation on why said breaches occurred and ensuring the breaches are rectified before the building’s completion. 

Prior to the CCC’s introduction, the Certificate of Fitness for Occupation (CFO) was the certificate necessary for a building’s completion. But there is a key difference between the CCC and the CFO. 

While the CCC requires a PSP to sign it off, the CFO was under the complete responsibility of local governments (PBT). 

Because the CFO required local government authorities to visit the site in person to provide approval however, the lack of manpower meant that Malaysia’s property development industry had to experience backlogs and delays due to the limited availability of local authorities in signing off buildings. 

As such, the CCC was then introduced in 2007 to speed up the approval processes and prevent homebuyers from experiencing delays when moving into their newly-built properties. 

Nevertheless, the PBT is still included in the property development process as they are responsible for receiving, processing and approving CCC applications. This also means that PBT has the right to conduct site inspections to confirm construction details and are also authorized to impose penalties if there are breaches within the construction project.

So why do you need a CCC?

A CCC is important to ensure a building’s structure and overall build has been done up to standard. 

The CCC process requires a sign off at every step of the building development process, ensuring that each step has been safely constructed, from the foundations of the building to the final touches of landscaping. Individual contractors are also required to sign off their respective work in the CCC as a form of responsibility over their work in the event that there are any defects that need to be addressed. 

The CCC is submitted alongside documents from relevant registered bodies such as utility companies to ensure that everyday essentials like sewage connections or electricity supplies are functioning properly. 

Once the CCC is issued, it is accompanied with a Vacant Possession (VP) notice and is the final step before you are able to move into your new home.

In conclusion, it’s important to not overlook the CCC process during a building’s construction period. With the presence of the CCC, you can rest assured that your building will be constructed according to standard and should there be any defects or negligence, you will be able to seek legal consequences easily. 

The post Importance of Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) for construction projects appeared first on Mac Consultancy.

Before we start detailing the significance of strata titles, it is pertinent to understand all things related to strata titles in order for homebuyers to protect their legal rights.

Strata titles are commonly implemented to subdivided buildings or complexes including residential buildings, such as serviced apartments and commercial buildings. This form of title is necessary for subdivided buildings because unlike landed properties, the title gives control for the individual unit in the building that the homebuyer occupied —namely the parcel— instead of the land itself. The land and the common facilities surrounding the property are managed by the management committee of the Management Corporation (MC), which is elected amongst the strata title owners of the property.

Among the two types of land titles available in Malaysia —namely individual title and strata title— there are several differences as listed below:

• Ownership: For individual titles, the land and property ownership is with the purchaser. However, for the strata title, the ownership is shared between the owners of the properties.
• Registration of titles: Individual titles are registered faster than strata titles.
• Issuance of titles: Individual titles are issued to landed properties, whereas strata titles are issued to high rise properties.
• House type: Houses that have their own land such as terrace houses, semi-detached houses and bungalows will have an individual title. On the other hand, strata titles are available to high rise buildings that are subdivided such as condominiums and apartments.
• Responsibility: The responsibility for properties with individual titles falls solely on the individual who owns the property, whereas shared maintenance is expected for the building amongst strata title owners.
• Ease of finance: Acquiring financial support is easy for individual title owners. However, strata title owners may face some difficulties while attempting to acquire financial support.

There are many cases whereby despite homebuyers having bought their apartment units over 20 years ago they have yet to receive strata titles from their developers. Such stories are unfortunately common and rampant in Malaysia.

Although there are many voices expressing their opinion to involve banks in Malaysia to correlate with home buyers in issuance of the strata titles, there are no concrete actions taken thus far. Hence, with all things said, why bother with strata titles when its absence can go unnoticed for years, even decades?

Firstly, strata titles serve as proof of ownership of the high rise building’s parcel. This is because before the issuance of strata titles to the home buyers, the land and the building still legally belongs to the developer (or the registered proprietor) and the homeowner has only beneficial ownership of said parcel. The absence of strata titles will certainly be felt when the property developer becomes insolvent or goes into liquidation, as homeowners will need to prove ownership of their parcel to the liquidators without having a strata title.

The situation will be even more so complicated when homebuyers are seeking to sell their property. Aside from being an ultimate proof of ownership, a strata title is a necessary instrument when it comes to a smooth transaction during the sales process, as the developer is still the registered owner of the property.

Secondly, banks are often reluctant to grant loans where strata titles are either not perfected or downright not issued to the homebuyer, making it difficult for the sub-sales buyer to obtain a housing loan for the purchase. Hence, nowadays many sub-sale buyers require the presence of strata title as a prerequisite for the property purchase deal. Having the strata title ready during the sales process serves as an attractive prospect, allowing homebuyers to offer a higher price too.

What about the homebuyers who intend to stay in the property? Do they require a perfect strata title?

Thirdly, the issuance of strata titles to a minimum of 25% of the parcel owners is required to kickstart the formation of the MC. The members of MC are voted by all the other parcel owners who attended the Annual General Meeting, as strata developments are intended to operate as a democratic community. There are many responsibilities that are handled by the MC including enforcing rules and regulations, maintaining and managing common properties, obtaining insurance, paying quit rent and complying with relevant policies and law. The MC is a representation of all the parcel owners, in which it can only be enacted upon the issuance of strata titles.

Last but not least, the property developer can impose additional storage charges ranging between RM100 to RM150 monthly in the event of failure or delay to effect the perfection of transfer. This is because by not perfecting the transfer of the strata title within the specific period as announced by the developer, the developer continues to bear the burden of being the registered owner of the property. In this case, it is a lose-lose situation that should be rectified as soon as possible.

In conclusion, we strongly urge homebuyers to not delay the perfection of their respective strata titles the moment the developers have issued the strata titles for the property. Having a strata title registered in your name not only proves your indefeasible ownership of the property, but it allows you to fully exercise your rights as a parcel owner in a strata development.

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