The Ministry of Housing and Local Government has in the past year or two issued periodic announcements that a new law, the Real Property Development Bill (“
the Proposed Law”), will be tabled in Parliament to enhance the regulation of the property industry, including residential property development and also commercial property development.
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The Minster of Housing and Local Government, Nga Kor Ming, shared details of key features of the Proposed Law at the Madani Housing Reform event on 20 November 2025.
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According to the Minister:
The Minister added that the Proposed Law is expected to be tabled in Parliament in June 2026.
During the event, Nga also shared that other initiatives that are targeted to be implemented by the Ministry by end-2026 include the following:
HIMS will enable all projects progress data and financial flows, including financial transactions such as payments to consultants and legal fees claims, vendor dealings, transactions with financiers, to be recorded digitally and all project inflows and outflows will be traceable.
Meanwhile, TEDUH will include an online complaints and monitoring system that allows buyers to check progress and report developer misconduct.
e-SPA will introduce electronic signing for sale and purchase of property agreements, secure digital identification or electronic know your customer (e-KYC) process, and be integrated with the Inland Revenue Board’s e-stamping system to provide a faster, more secure and tamper proof process.
Comments
The initiatives announced by the Minster of Housing and Local Government are, in principle, to be lauded. Details of the Proposed Law are sketchy and it remains to be seen how much additional protection will be conferred on purchasers of residential and commercial properties. For purchasers of commercial properties, the Proposed Law will no doubt be a revolutionary and significant improvement as there are presently no prescribed sale and purchase agreement for commercial properties entered into with property developers, and no minimum statutory safeguards afforded to purchasers in sale and purchase agreements for commercial properties entered into with property developers.
The combination of HIMS, TEDUH and audits of Housing Development Accounts have the potential of providing early warning signs of property development projects that are facing execution or financial difficulties or where financial misconduct may be perpetrated. This may reduce the number of abandoned projects that plague the residential property development sector and cause grave hardships to homebuyers.
It is to be noted that the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 only applies to Peninsular Malaysia. It is expected that the territorial reach of the Proposed Law will be similarly restricted. If the reforms under the Proposed Law are successful, it is hoped that the territories of Sabah and Sarawak will in due course introduce similar reforms to their respective property development laws.
As the initiatives announced by the Minister will undoubtedly be game changers for property developers in Peninsular Malaysia, especially commercial property developers, it is hoped that an in-depth consultative process will be carried so that when the initiatives are launched, they will not only provide better safeguards for property purchasers but are also practicable for the developer property market.
Article by Jesy Ooi (Partner) of the Real Estate Practice of Skrine.