JERAI: When Mohamad Syazlan Fitri Zaidin, 28, married in 2019, he bought a house in Gurun to start a new life with his wife and future children.
However, Syazlan and some 500 buyers of Residensi Mesra Gurun are still waiting for the project developer to hand over vacant possession of the houses to them.
The buyers wanted a precise delivery date since they started paying the mortgage's monthly instalment of between RM900 and RM1,500 per month over a year ago.
"I signed the Sales and Purchase Agreement in 2019. Our first child is already born, but we are still in the lurch when we can move in.
"We hope that this project will be completed as soon as possible. It is burdensome as some buyers are still renting but have to pay for the house instalment for the past year.
"I am a bit lucky because I am staying with my parents in Pendang for now, but those who are renting are definitely burdened for having to pay for two houses," he said when met at the project site after meeting with the developer today.
Syazlan also thanked Gurun assemblyman Baddrol Bakhtiar for coming to the site today to attend to their grouses.
Another buyer, Mohd Haniffah Hasan, 40, said while he could understand that the project was delayed due to prolonged lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, he hoped the houses could be delivered anytime soon.
"We bought the house in 2019 and have been paying the monthly installment since last year.
"We do understand that the developer had to suspend the construction works during the lockdown period, but that has passed, and the project should have been delivered by now," he said.
Taman Residensi Mesra is an affordable housing project by a private developer comprising 405 terrace houses and 144 double-storey houses.
The groundwork started in August 2019 and was scheduled to be completed by March this year.
However, like many other construction projects, the progress was derailed by the series of lockdowns during the pandemic.
The Housing and Local Government Ministry had granted the developer two extension applications but turned down its third application submitted in September last year.
Anxious over the delay, the buyers had complained with the Housing and Local Government Ministry in March.
On May 19, Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir visited the site for an update on the work progress. It was reported that the developer had informed the ministry that the project would be completed by the end of this year.
Commenting on the meeting held with the home buyers today, Isaga Utara Sdn Bhd director, Datuk Kang Hsuen Chiang, said the project was 90 per cent complete.
"The project was delayed for almost 18 months during the series of Movement Control Orders. Then, we faced problems with the supply of building materials and price fluctuations.
"Until recently, we have achieved 90 per cent of work progress. The remaining works are testing and commissioning, followed by the road works.
"Only six out of the total 50 blocks faced technical issues. The rest have been completed in March," he told reporters at the site.
Kang said the company was trying its best to deliver the houses to the buyers fast as the housing and local government ministry would withhold the remaining 25 per cent of the project payment until it obtained the Certificates of Completion and Compliance (CCC).
"We are doing our best to deliver the project by next May," added Kang.
Meanwhile, Baddrol hoped the developer would fulfil its promise to deliver the project by May.
"We are praying that the buyers will get the keys to their house by next May, and I have asked the developer to resolve this matter as soon as possible," he said.