Online rental platform, Speedhome is urging Putrajaya to pass the Tenancy Act as soon as possible to improve the market mechanism in order to reduce conflict between landlords and tenants.
This comes after Bank Negara had cut the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points again, and is expected to not stimulate real estate sales.
Chief executive officer, Wong Whei Meng said that the housing market is expected to continue to face headwinds.
“Right of residence is the most basic demand of the people. If people are temporarily unable to buy, renting a house will become their first choice. In fact, this is also reflected in the performance of the rental platform Speedhome, after MCO, the inquiries from the tenants has increased rapidly,” he said.
Malaysia’s property rental market currently has no Tenancy Act and disputes between two parties will lead to a lengthy legal procedure. According to Speedhome, from time to time, bad tenants destroy the house and this results in increases in the rental cost of the homeowner, which in turn leads the tenant to face high deposits and various rental conditions.
In a survey conducted by Speedhome among homeowners, the main concerns include tenants who do not pay rent or utility fees on time, if the house is destroyed and when tenants keep contacting the owner over minor problems in the home.
“The homeowner worries that the house whose loan has not been paid off yet will be damaged by the tenant, so he would rather not decorate the house for rent. The problem is that vacant periods for undecorated houses will be longer than for houses that are furnished,” Whei Meng said.
He further highlighted that If Malaysia has a residential property rental arbitration institution similar to the consumer arbitration tribunal, it will greatly improve the distrust between the two parties, and the homeowner is more confident to rent the house.
