A NEW law is being come up with to protect house renters from prejudice following instances of ethnic discrimination among landlords in the country, reported The Star Online.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the Residential Tenancy Act is being drawn up to protect landlords and tenants.

“The new law will include provisions against discrimination in accordance with international law,” she told reporters after unveiling the new National Housing Policy (2018-2025) yesterday.

“Models used in Australia and Scotland are being considered in the law,” she said.

Zuraida said the study on the proposed law will also look into a bumiputera housing quota as the proposed enactment is scheduled to be passed in Parliament by 2020.

A survey carried out by The Star recently showed that one in five Malaysians, or 21% of 1,204 Malaysians aged 18 and above, claimed to have been discriminated on account of their ethnicity when seeking a place to rent.

The findings were based on a survey carried out by YouGov Omnibus.

Zuraida said developers must obtain the Quality Assessment System in Construction certification for new projects in 2020.

She said a competent assessor will be appointed by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia to ensure the workmanship of homes adheres to the standards.

Zuraida said the government is also studying the possibility of compelling developers to implement the build-and-sell concept.

“The concept was introduced under the previous housing policy and was tried out on six housing projects but found to be not viable,” she said.

Zuraida said that the government is presently leaning towards the rent-to-own concept practiced in Penang and Selangor. – January 29, 2019.