Those who own tenable residential properties in Malaysia should have a look at the proposed Residential Tenancies Act that the government is proposing to implement.

The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) is in the process of drafting the Residential Tenancy Bill. 

Malaysia's anticipation of the Residential Tenancy Act(RTA) had piqued the interest of real estate experts in 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government was expected to introduce the proposed Residential Tenancy Act in parliament in the first quarter of 2022. 

Among the main objectives of the proposed Residential Tenancy Act is to provide specific legal provisions to protect the rights of tenants and homeowners as well as create specialised dispute resolution institutions to resolve disputes between parties involved in residential rental transactions.

The proposed Act is said to include severe penalties for landlords if found guilty of any mishandling. The proposal is also said to state that security or rental deposits are to be held by the government.

The following are a few other proposed provisions of the RTA:

1. Provides processes for administering and regulating small leases, transfers rental to third parties and determination of the rental period if the owner sells premises, the premises are involved in the mortgage process and in the event of any death party.



2. Ensure that the rental housing is in a habitable condition and all parties sign the agreement after the inspection of the premises has been implemented.



3. Set the notice period that must be given by homeowners and tenants so that tenants are not forced to move ahead of time.



4. Establishment of a dedicated Tribunal to resolve disputes of the parties involved in residential rental transactions.

To ensure that the Act is suitable to be implemented, the Government is inviting the public to give comments on the new law from 28 January 2022 (Friday) to 28 February 2022 (Monday).

The public is encouraged to provide their comments and feedback regarding the Act on the Unified Public Consultation(UPC) website.