Conveyancing is the practical application of land law towards the creating and transferring of rights in land from one party to another. It is a process that places a heavy duty of care on the solicitors handling the transaction to ensure that each stage of the transaction is carried out with meticulous care. There is a whole range of laws that the conveyancing lawyer needs to be familiar with to effectively the various facets of convenyancing.

This book focusses on dealings in residential property. Starting with the story of “Grandma’s property”, each chapter picks up an important issue as it delves into the legal principles, issues, practice and procedure, backed with numerous case illustrations. Each chapter is carefully thought out and structured to provide a comprehensive and systematic guide to the conveyancer, walking through the process, step by step, with explanations, diagrams, worked examples, and sample letters and documents.

This guide also deals with the gamut of laws related to conveyancing, solicitors’ duty of care and liability in negligence, the Malaysian Bar Council Conveyancing Practice Guidelines, stamp duty, real property gains tax, the transfer and loan procedure related to property with and without individual title, legal fees, small estates distribution, Islamic home loans, and strata property. Special attention has been given to the laws relating to housing developers, and the complex legal issues and cases that have arisen. The book concludes with a peek into exciting times on the technology frontier in real estate through the evolving practice of electronic conveyancing.

Practical Guide to Conveyancing in Malaysia will prove beneficial for conveyancing lawyers, both experienced and novice, chambering pupils, as well as in-house counsel in the real estate and banking industries.

Key Features

• Situation setting through the intriguing story of “Grandma’s property” to introduce the scope of each chapter.
• Carefully structured presentation of the law governing conveyancing practice and procedure related to residential property in Malaysia.
• Each chapter takes up a topic for discussion in a simple and easy-to-follow, practical way, replete with diagrams, charts, and worked examples.
• Dealings in property with and without title, financing procedures, stamp duty, real property gains tax, and solicitors’ remuneration are presented with simple worked examples.
• Exhaustive discussion of a wealth of cases related to each topic.
• Professional standards, ethics in conveyancing, solicitor’s liability in negligence, duty of care to third parties, and the incidence of fraud in conveyancing are dealt with thoroughly.
• Latest cases relating to housing developers including the right to damages for late delivery, extension of time, alternative agreements waiving rights under statutory agreements, strata titles, etc. are reviewed.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Conveyancing Practice
2. Pre-contract Process and Checklists
3. The Sale and Purchase Agreement for a Sub-Sale
4. The Contract Stage: Real Property Gains Tax and Stamp Duty
5. Regulation of Housing Developers
6. Strata Property
7. Procedure for Sale and Financing of Property with Individual Title
8. The Sale and Financing of Property Without Title
9. Islamic Home Loans
10. Secured Transactions for Property with Title
11. Secured Transactions for Property Without Individual Title
12. Auction Sale of Land
13. Small Estates Application Procedure
14. Leases and Tenancies
15. Solicitors’ Remuneration Order
16. Electronic Conveyancing