The development control process for residential and serviced apartments in Shah Alam, Selangor

The lack of understanding on the development control process for residential and serviced apartments causes developers took advantage by placing unreasonable house prices leaving negative impacts to the purchasers. This becomes a growing concern whereby the growth of apartments has increased throughout the years in Malaysia. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to compare the serviced apartment and residential apartment in Shah Alam from the aspects of design guidelines and planning standards, the development requirements including the density and plot ratio, the submission requirements, and the legal matters involved in the development of these apartments. An analysis is done based on the data obtained from relevant Acts, Manuals, Checklists and interviews with fourteen (14) representatives from Shah Alam City Council, developers and apartments management body that is involved in the process. The results of the study indicate the differences between the serviced apartment and residential apartment. The findings present a synthesis of results for town planners, architects, developers and, government agencies to have a better understanding on the development control process for apartments that further can rationalize the success of property development sector.