MALAYSIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Natalie Ooi and Nicholas Ooi, Ooi & Ooi
4.7 Enforcement of Restrictions on Development and Designated Use Restrictions on development and designated land use are strictly regulated and enforced through a multi-layered framework of federal, state and local laws. Enforcement mechanisms involve a combination of statutory powers, local authority oversight, planning permissions and land title conditions, with potential penalties including fines, demolition orders and criminal liability. Instances of enforcement include planning per - mission or zoning violations that are usually dealt with via stop-work orders or demolition orders under the TCPA, fines or imprisonment. Similar legal action is applied to breaches of building construction guidelines under the UBBL. Other violations include breaches of land cat - egory use under the NLC, such as building commercial properties on agricultural land. The land can be forfeited to the state authority if the breach remains uncured after notice is served under the NLC. Breaches of environmental quality are dealt with under the EQA. 5. Investment Vehicles 5.1 Types of Entities Available to Investors to Hold Real Estate Assets Real property in Malaysia can be registered under the names of individuals, corporations or entities having a legal personality. 5.2 Main Features and Tax Implications of the Constitution of Each Type of Entity In Malaysia, private companies and REITs have constitutions that govern their operation and
local authorities prior to the commencement of any construction of a building on land. Under the TCPA and local regulations, develop - ers must notify the public of the proposed pro - ject as part of the public consultation process. Public objections may be raised at such meet - ings. For large-scale developments, an EIA must be carried out, which will be reviewed by the Department of Environment. The EIA is also available for public comment. 4.5 Right of Appeal Against an Authority’s Decision An aggrieved party has a right to appeal to the Appeals Board of the state authority. The Appeals Board is established by each state authority to hear appeals against decisions made by a local planning authority. 4.6 Agreements With Local or Governmental Authorities In addition to obtaining statutory approvals and permits, it is customary for developers to enter into formal agreements with governmental authorities, local councils and utility providers to facilitate and implement development projects. These agreements may be required by law, or may arise as conditions of development approv - als, particularly for larger or complex develop - ments like mixed-use projects, townships or planned unit developments. Planning permission may be approved with con - ditions such as requiring the developer to build public amenities and surrender the same to the local authorities.
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