Halimathon with some of the buyers of the low-cost flat project which is yet to be completed since 2003.

THEY have been waiting for 17 years to get the keys to their homes, and sadly the wait is far from over for the buyers of a low-cost flat project.

The six-storey project in Jalan Pluto U5/139 in Shah Alam was supposed to have 840 units across six blocks of flats.

Units went on sale in 2000 and work began in 2003.

However, in 2009 construction came to a halt after the developer went bankrupt.

The units were no longer priced at RM42,000 as per the original sale and purchase agreement. The amount increased by almost 62% to RM68,000.

Today, three unfinished blocks stand hidden behind zinc hoarding.

Buyer Lim Lee Chin, 41 is leading the committee of buyers to want their plight highlighted and the problem rectified.

“I can only see the flats from afar but can’t live in it. The developers made promises, telling us they would finish the project but it remains incomplete.”

She said whenever they received calls from the developer, it was always to ask for money but no invoice was provided.

Lim said she had already paid 20% for her unit.

“There are buyers who paid in full for their unit before the price was increased later. It is upsetting that the money has gone to waste,” she said.

Lim added that buyers had filed complaints with the Selangor Housing and Real Estate Board (LPHS) but no action had been taken.

Lee Kok Hoe, 58, said the new developer would give excuses when questioned about the project’s progress.

He claimed that some buyers had even “lost” their units.

“The developer claimed that there was no record of purchase for the previous price and a new agreement would have to be signed. Buyers have different issues with the developer.”

“We want our homes. We bought it when we were much younger. Now we have bigger families, including grandchildren,” Lee said.

He said some buyers had paid an extra 10% to the new developer and signed a new agreement while others did not receive receipts for their payment.

Thirumoorthy Apparavoo, 44, who booked his unit in 2000, said when he questioned the developer on the delay, he was told to wait and that he needed to sign a new agreement as the price had increased.

Thirumoorthy has repaid the bank loan for half the initial unit price.

“How am I to pay? I’m not rich and I don’t know if I will ever get my home.”

Lim Lee Kuon, 35, and her father bought a unit each.

Lim, who is married with three children, said she had not been able to move out of her parents home in Kampung Subang all these years.

She claimed that the developer had not held a meeting with all buyers but instead selected certain buyers and asked them to make payment.

“I did not receive any calls but my father received calls requesting for payment or face losing his unit and getting a lawyer’s letter.”

“I think they only target the elderly or those who would not question much,” she said.

Kota Damansara assemblyman Datuk Halimathon Saadiah Bohan said the reason given for the price increase was that the developer was upgrading the units with tiles.

Halimathon said abandoned project issues are always brought up in state assembly meetings and priority must be given to projects that were abandoned for a longer period.

She said with documents from the buyers’ committee, she will raise the matter with the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry this week

“We will work together with LPHS and the Shah Alam City Council to resolve the issue,” she added.

StarMetro was unable to obtain comments from the developer at press time.