KUALA LUMPUR: In 2018, Mohd Shahrizan Sukirman signed an agreement to buy a property in Gombak for RM299,900.
Fast forward to 2025, the house is still not ready. However, he is still paying RM1,600 in monthly instalments.
He believed that the "Build-then-Sell" (BTS) model could save other house buyers from his fate.
"If a developer manages to fully complete the houses before selling them, it will give confidence to buyers. That way, there will be no cases of abandoned housing projects."
On the planned incentives for housing developers that adopt the BTS model, he said it should also address the plight of buyers like him.
Meanwhile, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations chief executive officer Dr Saravanan Thambirajah said the incentives were a step towards rebalancing risks between developers and buyers.
He said affected buyers could not wait until 2030 for stronger protections, adding that abandoned and delayed housing projects continued to cause hardship to buyers and their families.
He urged the government to set clear timelines and enforcement mechanisms to phase in BTS well before 2030.
He said incentives could ease developers' financing concerns.
Saravanan also highlighted concerns with the "Sell-then-Build" model, which "exposes consumers to severe risks if projects are delayed or abandoned, leaving families burdened with loans but without homes".
