MALAYSIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Natalie Ooi and Nicholas Ooi, Ooi & Ooi
• non-payment of rent after the issuance of a termination notice or notice to quit; • breach of lease terms – eg, unauthorised sub - letting, illegal activities or property damage; • abandonment of premises; • the insolvency or bankruptcy of the tenant; or • force majeure. A tenant may terminate the lease if: • there is breach of the agreement by the land - lord; • the property becomes uninhabitable; • there is a constructive eviction; • there is an early termination clause in agree - ment; or • force majeure (if applicable). 6.20 Registration Requirements Leases are subject to certain legal registration requirements and execution formalities, espe - cially when they relate to real property. Under the NLC, the lease must be in the pre - scribed form (Form 15A) and executed before a witness. It must be stamped under the Stamp Act 1949 before it can be registered. The lease is then endorsed on the issue document of title in the Land Register maintained by the Land Office. Stamp duty for rental is payable based on the length of the rental period and the rental amount. Varying registration fees are imposed by the rel - evant Land Office depending on the state, the type of land and the lease term. Typically, the lessee (tenant) pays the stamp duty and regis - tration fees, but terms can be negotiated in the lease agreement. 6.21 Forced Eviction A tenant can be evicted in the event of default, but it is not automatic. The remedy of self-help
for a landlord wishing to evict a tenant that holds over on the property after the termination of a lease or tenancy is no longer applicable by vir - tue of the Specific Relief Act 1950. The landlord would generally need to resort to eviction pro - ceedings by way of a court action. There are currently no active eviction moratori - ums in Malaysia specific to COVID-19. During the peak of the pandemic (2020–2021), there were temporary measures and financial assistance schemes to support tenants and landlords, but these are no longer effective. The courts have applied a strict approach to such moratoriums. Tenants and landlords are still encouraged to negotiate in good faith if a tenant is facing hard - ship. The government previously provided a COVID-19 Mediation Centre to help resolve such disputes amicably, but this is no longer active. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party The actions of a third party (particularly gov - ernmental authorities) may amount to frustra - tion of the lease. Such termination is conducted primarily through the process of compulsory land acquisition. This process is governed by the LAA, which allows the state authority to acquire land for purposes including public use, economic development beneficial to the public, or mining, residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial or recreational developments. The compulsory acquisition process involves several stages. • Preliminary notice (Form A) – the state author - ity issues a notice indicating the intent to acquire specific land. • Declaration of intended acquisition (Form D) – upon deciding to proceed, a formal declara - tion is published in the Gazette.
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