Seriputra5

Source: http://www.highrise.my/blog/main/New_Gated_Communities_And_Guarded_Neighbourhood_Guidelines

Up until several years ago, I would occasionally take leisurely drives with my cousins around expensive neighbourhoods to admire (or laugh at) the homes there.  Sadly, our joyrides are a thing of the past.  Try driving past any neighbourhood these days and you would no doubt notice security guards in just about every one of them.  Some sit by boom gates while others patrol the neighbourhoods on motorcycles.  Some neighbourhoods have oil barrels lined up like soldiers to block certain roads, while others have more permanent steel gates erected.

Gated communities and guarded neighbourhoods are becoming increasingly common in Malaysia with the rise of crime rates.  In Selangor alone, there are about 480 of such places.  The Ministry of Housing and Local Government recently released new guidelines for streamlining the setting up of such schemes.  Previously, communities had simply come up with their own setup and this sometimes caused issues, such as on a particular stretch of road which I traverse on my journey home from work.  What used to take me five minutes stretched into fifteen thanks to some oil barrels which even my Kancil could not squeeze around.

But what's the difference between a gated community and a guarded neighbourhood?  A gated community is one that is fenced and has its entrances and exits guarded by guards and gates.  Examples are condominiums, and some landed properties such as Aman Suria Damansara.  Guarded communities, however, may or may not have barriers erected.  The common setup for a guarded community is to hire security guards to patrol the neighbourhood.

The new guidelines have been imposed with immediate effect for all new applications, whether from developers or residents.  Pre-existing setups are exempted from following the new guidelines if their current setup does not cause any issues.

The new guidelines include quite a number of rules.  But here's a peek at some of them.

For gated communities (GC), some of the rules in the new guidelines include:

• GCs are only allowed in urban areas with high crime rates (based on police records)
• New GC schemes need to be determined and marked in the development's layout plans
• Common properties will be owned by owners of the community and are to be managed by management corporations
• Permanent guard houses require a Temporary Occupation License (TOL) from the district land office
• Barriers are allowed near the guard posts if security personnel guard the premises around-the-clock
• Perimeter fencing around the neighbourhood is not allowed

As for guarded neighbourhoods (GN):

• At least 51% of the residents in the neighbourhood must agree to the proposal of setting up the scheme
• Guard posts can only be set up on the road shoulder and must not impede traffic
• GNs are not allowed in areas with public amenities (e.g. schools) and public transportation routes
• Local authorities will determine the minimum and maximum number of houses within a GN scheme

So, what do you think of these new guidelines?  Do you agree with them?  Share your thoughts here with us.