KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) has called on lawyers and loan officers to play their part by reporting any dubious housing projects to authorities, particularly those built under the pretence of self-dwelling purposes.

Rehda president Datuk NK Tong said these housing projects, more often than not offered by individuals masking as developers, in the rural and suburban areas, as well as in pocket developments where the scale of the project is small and may go undetected.

“More often than not, these individuals masking as developers are also operating without any Advertising Permit and Developer’s License (APDL), thus tracking them is understandably hard,” he said.

However, he said, it must be noted that these projects would not have progressed and eventually abandoned without the complicity of errant lawyers and loan officers.

“Legal services and loan financing offers should have been halted for projects without approved APDLs and we believe that the responsibility should fall under these lawyers and loan officers to report such activities to the authorities.

“Their involvement should be investigated, and action should also be taken against them and others who play their part in abetting such crimes,” he said in a statement here today.

The statement was issued in response to a media report, quoting PDRM’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department Director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf as saying that a total of 88 criminal breach of trust (CBT) cases committed by lawyers were recorded resulting in RM88.3million in losses between 2021 and last year.

The latest case occurred in Negri Sembilan, where a 60-year-old man lost RM333,323, where initial investigations showed a lawyer and a real-estate agent had handled the sale of the victim’s house in August last year.

However, the victim did not receive the money from the sale.

Tong said Rehda Malaysia is keen to engage and work with the Housing and Local Government Ministry as well as relevant state authorities and the police to curb illegal housing projects that could lead to further abandonment.

He expressed confidence that the illegal activities will no longer be a part of the property industry landscape should all parties work together. — Bernama