Residents of Siantan Apartment in Putra Perdana are unhappy that they need to pay the liquidator's service fees as the developer who built their homes had become bankrupt.

The payment, which is for the ongoing liquidation exercise involving over 7,500 houses, ranges from 0.8 percent to 1.2 percent based on the value of a residential property.

According to Kamal Arifin Mokhtar, 41, who works for the Siantan Apartment Joint Management Body (SAJMB), the fee would further reduce the residents' finances as they are still paying a hefty water bill.

In 2016, the damaged pipe system of their homes was replaced under the Welfare State Flat Reparation Scheme (Ceria). Although the leaks were repaired, these still caused a large monthly water bill of RM45,000 since 2010.

Overall, they still have to pay arrears of RM400,000 to Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor, which has agreed to divide the large bill among 1,000 units and allowed the residents to repay in instalments over 18 months.

According to Dengkil Community Service Centre's special officer Chendren Balakrishnan, paying the service fees owed to the liquidator is necessary for verifying the properties' ownership so the residents will have rightful possession of their homes.

While the buyers have inked sale and purchase agreements for their homes, he noted that they have not yet obtained their strata titles. This means they still need fork out money for stamp duties and the fee for grant registration processing.

Hence, if the buyers want to be recognised as the rightful owner of their property, they need to cooperate in the ownership verification process, Otherwise, they won't be able to sell, transfer or even use their homes as collateral.

To prevent similar issues from happening, Chendren advised those purchasing off-plan houses to first look into the developer's track record, verify land ownership and make sure that there is a valid development order for the project.