Buyers assured of compensation

KOTA KINABALU: The management of Marvelgold Development Sdn Bhd (Marvelgold), developer of the Gardens Condominium in Bundusan, remains committed to paying the Liquidated and Ascertained Damages (LAD) compensation for late delivery to purchasers once the Occupation Certificate (OC) is obtained.

Marvelgold director Dato’ Winson Yong said many buyers felt that the company was avoiding responsibility by taking the legal approach instead of trying to resolve the access to the condominium by other means.

“We have tried all sorts of ways. We have talked to the developer (of Taman Formosa on the adjoining land) but we could not achieve a consensus,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

He said the developer of Taman Formosa, Unsur Pancar Sdn Bhd, had demanded an unfair amount of contribution for the usage of the road reserve.

“Hence, we took the matter to court. Once the OC is obtained, we will pay our buyers LAD compensation,” Yong said. Gardens Condominium was completed at the end of November 2016 with the Certificate of Practical Completion duly issued. In January 2017, the appointed architect of Marvelgold submitted to the Penampang District Council (PDC) an application for the OC to be issued.

The council inspected the condominium in April 2017 and subsequently issued a letter the following month requiring Marvelgold to resolve the access to the Gardens Condominium with Unsur Pancar Sdn Bhd as one of the two conditions before the issuance of the OC can be made. The issuance of the OC has been delayed by about nine months.

Yong said some buyers had been asking why not pay them the LAD now since the issuance of the OC had been delayed.

“We have spoken to the Housing Controller. Under the law, we are unable to calculate the LAD compensation without the date of issuance of the OC,” Yong said.