Schedule H · the standard strata SPA
One hundred per cent,
in twelve payments.
The standard strata SPA splits the price into twelve payments: the first 10% when you sign, the rest as construction, handover and the defect liability period come due. The bar shows that statutory payment schedule.
The short answer
To buy a new strata home from a developer in Kuala Lumpur: the developer must hold a developer’s licence and an advertising and sales permit; before the SPA is signed, no one, including anyone acting as a stakeholder, may collect any payment under any name; and the SPA must follow the prescribed Schedule H form, with the first 10% of the price paid when you sign it and the rest by construction stage. The developer must deliver vacant possession within 36 months of the SPA date, by which time the Certificate of Completion and Compliance and a separate strata title must have been issued; if it is late, it pays 10% of the price a year, calculated daily. A 24-month defect liability period follows handover.
- On signing
- 10%Third Schedule, item 1
- Handover deadline
- 36months (clause 25(1))
- Late-delivery damages
- 10%of the price a year (clause 25(2))
- Defect liability period
- 24months (clause 30(1))
Compiled by Kevin LeeUpdated
The developer’s licence and the advertising and sales permit
To carry out housing development in Peninsular Malaysia, a developer must hold a licence issued by the Controller of Housing. One condition of the licence is lodging with the Controller a sum equal to 3% of the estimated construction cost (section 6(1) of the Act). Under the National Housing Department’s 2025 guideline, a new developer’s licence runs for 5 years, and since 31 January 2022 a single licence covers all of a developer’s projects.
Before it may advertise or sell a single unit, the developer must also obtain an advertising and sales permit, the APDL (regulation 5(1)). A permit is issued for one project or one phase; under the same guideline, a project sold on the Schedule H strata form is generally granted a permit for 3 years.
Sources: Act A1415: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (housing ministry copy) (2015-06-01); P.U.(A) 106/2015: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (housing ministry copy) (2015-07-01); National Housing Department: guideline on developer’s licence applications (2025-02-20); National Housing Department: guideline on advertising and sales permit applications (2025-02-20)
No payment may be collected before the SPA
Regulation 11(2), as amended in 2015, says that no person, including anyone acting as a stakeholder, may collect any payment by whatever name called, except as the contract of sale prescribes. In the standard strata SPA, the first payment is the 10% due immediately upon the signing of the agreement.
In the PJD Regency case of 2021, the Federal Court held that if a buyer paid any sum before the SPA, or gave a written expression of intention to buy, the delivery period for late-delivery damages runs from that day, not from the SPA date.
Registering before the SPARegistering interest costs nothing, and it holds no unit for you.
Sources: P.U.(A) 106/2015: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (housing ministry copy) (2015-07-01); Skrine: the Federal Court on PJD Regency (2021-01-19)
The payment schedule
Items 2(a) to 2(h) fall due within 30 days of the developer’s notice of completion, certified by its architect or engineer. The developer need not build in the order listed; you pay for the stages actually completed. Older versions still found online (12.5% at handover, for instance) no longer apply.
| Item | Stage | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | On signing the SPA | 10 |
| 2(a) | Work below ground level, including the foundation | 10 |
| 2(b) | Structural framework of the unit | 15 |
| 2(c) | Walls, with the door and window frames in place | 10 |
| 2(d) | Roofing and ceiling, electrical wiring, plumbing (without fittings), gas piping (if any), internal telecommunication trunking and cabling | 10 |
| 2(e) | Internal and external finishes of the unit, including wall finishes | 10 |
| 2(f) | Sewerage works serving the building | 5 |
| 2(g) | Drains serving the building | 2.5 |
| 2(h) | Roads serving the building | 2.5 |
| 3 | Vacant possession, with water and electricity ready for connection | 17.5 |
| 4 | Vacant possession, with the signed transfer and the original strata title delivered | 2.5 |
| 5 | Held by the developer’s lawyer as stakeholder: 2.5% released 8 months after vacant possession and 2.5% at 24 months | 5 |
| Total | 100 |
Sources: P.U.(A) 106/2015: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (housing ministry copy) (2015-07-01)
Handover within 36 months, with every condition met
The developer must deliver vacant possession within 36 months of the SPA date (24 months for a landed home). At handover, all of these must be in place: the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC; a “partial CCC” does not count), the separate strata title, water and electricity ready for connection, every sum then due paid by the buyer, and any alteration works both sides agreed.
Thirty days after the notice to take vacant possession is served, the buyer is deemed to have taken it, whether or not the keys have been collected. If the strata title cannot be issued for a reason that is not the developer’s doing, handover may go ahead first only with the written certification of the Controller of Housing.
Sources: P.U.(A) 106/2015: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (housing ministry copy) (2015-07-01)
Late handover: what is paid?
If handover is late, the developer pays liquidated damages at 10% of the price a year, calculated daily from the end of the 36 months until the buyer takes vacant possession. The damages are payable as soon as the notice to take possession is served; if they are not paid, the buyer may deduct them from the sums due.
The common facilities must also be completed within 36 months; if they are late, damages run at 10% a year on the last 20% of the price.
Sources: P.U.(A) 106/2015: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (housing ministry copy) (2015-07-01); Skrine: the Federal Court on PJD Regency (2021-01-19)
24 months after handover: who repairs the defects?
A defect that appears within 24 months of handover, in the unit, the building or the common property, and is due to poor workmanship or materials or to a departure from the approved plans, must be repaired by the developer at its own cost within 30 days of written notice. If it is not, the buyer may follow the agreement’s procedure, carry out the repair and recover the cost, including from the 5% held by the lawyer.
Sources: P.U.(A) 106/2015: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (housing ministry copy) (2015-07-01)
What buyers often ask
Late payment
An instalment still unpaid after 30 days attracts late-payment charges at 10% a year, calculated daily.
Loan not approved
If the loan is refused because the buyer’s income does not qualify, and the buyer shows proof, the buyer pays only 1% of the price; the agreement ends and the balance is refunded within 30 days.
Buyer default
If the agreement is terminated for the buyer’s default, the developer may forfeit 10% of the price (where no more than half has been paid) or 20% (where more than half has been paid); late charges come off first and the rest is refunded.
Stalled project
If, after the SPA, the developer stops work for 6 months or more in a row, the buyer may terminate the agreement under the Act, with the written consent of the financing bank and the Controller’s certification; the developer must refund all money received within 30 days, free of interest (for agreements signed after 1 June 2015).
Housing Development Account
A licensed developer must open a Housing Development Account (HDA). Purchase money goes into it, withdrawals are limited by the Regulations, and the SPA must state the account number and the bank.
Sources: P.U.(A) 106/2015: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 (housing ministry copy) (2015-07-01); Act A1415: amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (housing ministry copy) (2015-06-01)
The Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims
A dispute arising from the SPA, with a claim of no more than RM50,000, can go to the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims (section 16M of the Act). The claim must be filed within 12 months of one of these dates: the issue of the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (for the unit or the common facilities, whichever is later), the end of the defect liability period, or the termination of the agreement, if that happened before the certificate was issued (section 16N(2)). Where practicable, the Tribunal must make its award within 60 days of the first hearing (section 16Y(1)).
Sources: Ministry of Housing and Local Government: Tribunal for Homebuyer and Strata Management Claims
Talk
Questions at any step?
Ask Kevin about the process and the paperwork; on the terms of your agreement, your lawyer’s advice prevails.
- WhatsApp Kevin Lee WhatsApp opens with a draft message. Nothing is sent until you tap send.
-
Leave Kevin a message
- Call +6013-3398686
KEVIN LEE李明伟
13 years in real estateSenior Property AdvisorREN 14973
Affiliated agency: FLP REALTY SDN. BHD.
Ask me anything, directly. In English, Bahasa Malaysia or Chinese.
kevinlee.com.myMeet Kevin Lee and his teamName on REN tag LEE BENG WAI· REN 14973· FLP REALTY SDN. BHD. (estate agency reg. E (1) 1718; company no. 1193823-D; office tel. +603-7499 2575)· Mobile +6013-3398686