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Your home & neighbours

Renting, buying, condo rules, late developers, and the people next door.

Property fights are mostly fights over which rulebook applies: the SPA and LAD schedule when your developer is late, strata by-laws and your local council for condo life and pets, the Distress Act when a tenant stops paying, and plain old nuisance law for CCTV cameras, boom gates and backyard chickens. These guides tell you who actually holds the power in each fight — the developer, the management, the council or you — and what pushing back looks like.

“The developer is late again.” Your LAD clock started the day you paid the booking fee — not the day you signed the SPA. Read the guide → “My neighbour’s CCTV points at my house.” A Johor court made someone take theirs down. Here’s the reasoning you can borrow. Read the guide → “Management fined me over my cat.” By-Law 14 doesn’t ban pets in your condo. Your local council might. Read the guide → “My tenant stopped paying rent.” The Distress Act lets you seize their stock — but not everything, and not by yourself. Read the guide →

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Your neighbour's CCTV is pointed at your house. A Johor court made someone take theirs down.Malaysia has no privacy tort — but a court ordered a CCTV camera dismantled under private nuisance. What that means for your cameras, your neighbour's, and posting footage online.
RM60,000 or 22 months in jail: what animal cruelty actually costs in Malaysia nowThe Animal Welfare Act 2015 sets a minimum RM20,000 fine for cruelty. Recent Malaysian sentences, what counts as neglect, how to report through MyAnimalWelfare — and why 19,000 complaints produced only 43 convictions.
SWCorp Issued 42 Littering Notices In The First Three Hours Of 2026. One Was A Cigarette Butt.Since 1 January 2026, littering under section 77A of Act 672 carries up to RM2,000 and 12 hours of court-ordered community service — but only in the eight states and territories that adopted the Act.
TNB vs Janda Baik: What the Law Actually Lets a Power Company Do to Your LandTNB paused a 500kV pylon project through Janda Baik after locals pushed back. What the law really says about lines on your land, notice, and payout.

All 24 guides

Can Planning Approval Rewrite Your Homebuyer SPA in Malaysia?A council or planning appeal may permit a project change, but that public approval does not automatically rewrite private promises in a homebuyer's sale and purchase agreement.
No Binding Land Sale, but a Caveat Was Lodged: What the Court of Appeal DecidedThe Court of Appeal found no concluded land sale and upheld the ruling that a private caveat was wrongful, while removing fraud and conspiracy findings that had not been properly pleaded.
Neighbour Injured Avoiding Uncontrolled Dogs: What the Malaysian Court Ruling MeansA neighbour did not need a reported dog bite to obtain damages after fracturing his spine while trying to protect himself. The decision shows why secure gates, control evidence and a careful incident record matter to owners and injured neighbours.
Memorandum of Transfer (MOT) Malaysia: Property Transfer, Fees and RegistrationAn MOT is the registrable Form 14A that moves ownership of titled land. Signing it is not enough: stamping, consent and registration must also be completed.
Sinking Fund and Maintenance Fees in Malaysia: What Condo Owners Must PayMaintenance charges fund daily operations; the sinking fund is a reserve for major work. Owners should check the budget, share units, resolutions and account statements before disputing a bill.
Hiring a Renovation Contractor in Malaysia: CIDB Checks, Contracts and Complaint RoutesCIDB recorded thousands of house-building and renovation complaints from 2018 to 2025. Registration matters, but a careful contract, staged payments and a clean evidence file matter too.
Penang Short-Term Rentals Now Need a Licence: What Hosts Should CheckPenang's new private short-term accommodation by-laws add a council licence to the checks a host must clear. The rules differ between the island and mainland, and a platform listing or strata approval is not enough on its own.
Condo Management Clamped Your Car? Malaysia's RM200 Strata Parking Rule ExplainedA condo clamp is not automatically an invented house rule. Malaysia's statutory strata by-laws identify when management may clamp or tow, what it may charge and where a documented dispute can go.
Three New Housing Laws Were Announced. Here Is What Your Strata Rights Already AreA minister announcing a new Act is not the same as a new Act. On 10 August 2026 the government said it will draft three housing laws and amend the Strata Management Act 2013. That is years away. Meanwhile there is a tribunal, a claim limit of RM250,000 and a RM100 form you can already use.
Tenant Not Paying Rent? What a Malaysian Landlord Can — and Cannot — DoUnpaid rent does not give a landlord a free pass to change the locks. Malaysia has separate legal routes for recovering rent and recovering the property, and confusing them can turn a straightforward debt into a much bigger dispute.
Court Auction Buyers and the Old Owner's Maintenance Arrears: What the High Court DecidedA management corporation demanded more than RM182,000 in old maintenance charges from someone who bought an office unit at a court e-auction. The High Court said no, because a judicial sale is not the kind of transfer that makes you a successor-in-title. Here is what the decision does, and does not, change for strata owners.
What condo owners should know before renovatingOwning the parcel does not mean you can renovate without limits. Get the approvals in writing, check the house rules and protect common property before work starts.
Ganggu meter TNB: apa risiko di bawah Akta Bekalan Elektrik?Meter yang diusik bukan sekadar isu bil. Akta Bekalan Elektrik membenarkan siasatan, pendakwaan dan tuntutan hasil terkurang, tetapi kuasa pemotongan bekalan juga ada had.
Buying a House With a Bank Loan? You're Actually Signing at Least Four Separate ContractsBooking form, SPA, loan agreement, MOT or Deed of Assignment: what each contract in a house purchase binds you to, and what 10% LAD a year really costs.
By-Law 14 Doesn't Ban Pets In Your Condo. Your Local Council Might.Strata by-law 14 permits pets unless they cause nuisance. But DBKL allows only nine dog breeds in high-rises and MBSJ allows none. Here's which rule wins.
Your LAD Clock Started The Day You Paid The Booking Fee — Not The Day You Signed The SPAThe Federal Court's PJD Regency ruling means LAD runs from the booking fee date. Worked calculation, the 10% formula, and the RM50,000 Tribunal limit explained.
Your Shoplot Tenant Stopped Paying. The Distress Act Lets You Seize Their Stock — But Not Yourself.Renting out a Malaysian shoplot: the Distress Act 1951 warrant, the 12-month claim cap, why changing the locks is illegal, and the 3-year tenancy/lease line.
DBKL Told Us There Is No Law About Backyard Chickens. They Use The Nuisance Provisions Instead.Rearing poultry or livestock in a Malaysian housing area — why the answer depends entirely on your council, and how the nuisance route actually works.
A Boom Gate Is Not An Obstruction If You Can Still Get In. Inconvenience Is Not Nuisance.Au Kean Hoe made neighbourhood boom gates legal in Malaysia — and in 2024 the Federal Court confirmed RAs can make non-paying residents lift the gate themselves.
Cukai Tanah Goes To The State. Cukai Pintu Goes To The Council. They Are Not The Same Tax.The five Malaysian property taxes — stamp duty, RPGT, quit rent, parcel rent and assessment rate — who collects each, and what they cost annually.

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