Friday, May 19, 2006

Bar Council: Know your rights and liabilities

The Sun

The Bar Council wants to create greater public awareness about the rights and liabilities of property owners and occupiers. This, says Roger Tan, the chairman of the council's Conveyancing Practice Committee, is part of the Bar Council's aims to facilitate the acquisition of legal knowledge by those who are not lawyers.

"The Bar Council is happy to work with theSun in our efforts to create public awareness on legal issues related to real estate. The title of the column 'Law & Realty" is apt, as it deals with different aspects of the law involving acquisition, disposal and dealings of immovable properties," says Tan, who is based in Johor.

The first article touches on forgery related to the transfer of property ownership, which Tan describes as a "serious problem" which he hopes the Government would tackle by making changes to the law.

He adds that Malaysians ought to be conscious and aware of the law as they "have a constitutional right not to be deprived of their properties save in accordance with the law". The column will be undertaken by members of the Conveyancing Practice Committee. Tan says committee members would write on issues related to lodging a private caveat, dealing with Land Offices, compulsory land acquisition and other issues of interest.

On legal problems encountered by the public in relation to property, Tan says these usually involve late delivery, legal fees and housing loans.