APARTMENT LAW UNPROTECTIVE TO CONSUMERS

          Law no. 20/2011 on Apartment was rated as a historical mistake which repeated and did not protect apartment occupants but strengthened developers’ power instead. This was disclosed by lbnu Taji, Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Apartment during session of Overview of Apartment Bill 2011 in Jakarta recently.

            Lbnu stated that supposedly the Law of Apartment served as solution the Law of Apartment served as solution to disputes between developers and apartment communities and not create new and apartment communities and not create new problems instead. According to lbnu Law no. 20/2011 on Apartments was not entirely protective to consumers of Apartments especially in terms of procurement of land and shelter. The existence on the Board of Apartment Undertakers, Association on the Board of Apartment Undertakers, Association of tenants, RT/RW and Management was a historical accident that repeated yesterday.

            The underlying philosophy of the Regulation tend to become too liberal. The Article on gotong royong (Social solidarity effort) and the positive nature of Indonesian identity as implemented in community social activities managed by RT/RW which was formerly included in the Apartment Law, had disappeared from the new law. “Supposedly an RT/RW body is set up in the apartment. Social activities like Integrated Public Service (Posyandu), Health Center (PKK) could not possibly be managed by the private sector, i.e. Apartment Management. In fact we had set this forth five years ago”.

            However, lbnu admitted that there was a plus point in this new Apartment Law. Marketing stipulations and Buying-Selling Commitment Deed (PPJB) which was written in the Apartment Law had made insurance by Guarantor Body mandatory and could only be put in effect if physical construction had been 20% completed; this was regarded as a progress in consumers protection. As know, the root of problem was in the making of PPJB Deed which was not transparent and unbalanced and therefore failed to create peace and comfort to stay in an apartment.

            Meanwhile Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Evaluation Body Zulfi Syarif Koto stated that he intended to safeguard regulations in PPJB and the Association of Apartment Owners and Tenants (P34SRS).