The Complete Guide to Land Title Search In Malaysia
Accomplishing dreams of having your own property must be something to be excited about. However, the process of buying the property cannot be taken lightly. You certainly did not want any hiccups that might come delaying the purchase process. Understanding the properties you were interested in is one of the crucial elements in ensuring the property you were about to buy is worth every penny.
Just like how we do online shopping on e-commerce, it’s important to ensure the description of the item you were about to buy met your desire and expectation. As one of the famous quotes says “The biggest pitfall when buying property is not doing your research. People rush in and buy, and are left to deal with the consequences.”
Hence, it is a must to consider all aspects before buying a property. Taking one step at one time before you signed the deal. Initially, you might consider doing a land search on the property you were interested in to get the latest information on it. And from the land search result, understanding the details on it also plays an important role.
What is a land title?
A land title is a legal document that establishes ownership of a property, such as a plot of land or any buildings built thereon. Land titles, often called title deeds, are used to streamline the ownership transfer procedure.
There are several title types in Malaysia, how does the type differ from each other?
- Freehold
Freehold properties mean that when you buy a property both the property and land were owned by you which the state sets aside and disposes to an individual for an indefinite amount of time. In the other words, you have full control of the property this means the owner has full control of the land with no imposed time restriction.
- Leasehold
Leasehold means that your property land was on the status of leasing. Only the property is yours, however, the land is leased to the State Government. There is a limitation on the leasing period where once the duration is ended, it is either the land will go back to the state Government or you might apply for a renewal of the lease from the authorities. The leasing period might vary and up to 99 Years. As long as the leasing period is not ended, you can continue to reside with your property on the state Government land.
- Master Title
The master title is the ownership document issued during the development stage which covers a huge area of the land for the project. It is usually registered under the proprietor and/or developer name where once the phase of the development project is completed, the developer will apply for a subdivision to specific individual land titles that can be transferred to end purchasers and owners.
Eventually, the Master Title will be further split into:
- Individual title
- The Individual title refers to the title for located properties such as landed properties including terrace houses, semi-D houses or bungalows.
- Strata title
- The strata title comes when a developer builds a stratified building; when the development is done, the property is divided into it subunit refer as the lot or parcel. Usually, the property under strata title is Individual units of high-rises such as multi-story buildings or like apartments, condominiums, townhouses or gated housing communities with shared facilities such as a swimming pool.
The common shared area in the housing area such as the playground will be classified under the master title as its own by the developer.
- Malay Reserved Land (Tanah Rezab Melayu) and Bumi Lot
Most people are confused about this. Basically, Malay reserve land and Bumi lot were quite different. Malay reserve land is land that can only be owned by Malay and cannot be sold, transferred, or leased to non-Malay. Bumi Lot is the land owned by Bumiputera including Malay, natives of Sabah and Sarawak, the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia, as well as non-Malay Muslims Malay. In contrast, Bumi Lot can be sold to non-Bumi where the Bumi lot needs to be released, however, it might take an effort in order for the process to be successful.
Hence, it is important to check on your desired property in case it is classified as Bumi Lot or Malay reserve land, hence it might restrict you during the purchasing process or dealing with selling, transferring, or leasing your property in the future.
What is a Land Search in Malaysia?
Land search enables you to get information regarding the property you were interested in. Buying a property is usually the most highly costly purchase we might have done in our lives. So, taking your good time to check on your desired property is sure to be a must-do. The land search contains the details of the land including the restriction of interest of the land, the encumbrance, charges, and caveat that is present on the property.
This might be the element you need to thoroughly check on the property since it might stop you from purchasing your desired property. For example, the caveat is usually entered by a beneficiary of property that wants to prevent the property from being sold. In the other words, Basically, when the property was put caveat on, it means the sales and purchase of the property cannot be done. This element was stated on the land search result.
What information can you get after conducting a land search?
Below are the information that you will get from a land search:
- Ownership and owner's last registered address
- Title Number
- A unique number that identifies the properties (checking if the details given were the same is the property you were interested in)
- Land status
- Leasehold or Freehold
- Land Purpose
- Agricultural, Industrial, Commercial or Residential
- Leasing expiry date (if applicable)
- For leasehold land, it is better for you to check the tenure period. As the tenure period gets closer to the end, hence there is a possibility for the leasing to end where the land might be going back to the state government. But it is also possible for the owner can try to plead for an extension of the tenure period depending on the approval by the state government. In this condition, it might cause difficulty in getting the bank loan and also the uncertainty to continue the leasing.
- Land area
- Land size in square meters
- Malay reserve land
- Restrictions in Interest
- Mostly applicable to Leasehold land as any change of name needs to get the State Authority Consent approval letter first before.
- Encumbrances
- Claim against the property by the entity that is not the owner, E.g.: Mortgage, Caveat, Charge and etc
Find out how to read land search HERE.
So basically, there are 3 types of land search that can be conducted in the land office:
- Private Land Search: Contained the detailed information from the title
- Official Land Search: Contained the detailed information from the title including signed and stamped by the land officer (usually used for official matters)
- Certified True Copy of Title (CTC): A copy of the original title which is a certified true copy by the Land Registrar
Find out more about the types of land search HERE.
What information do you need to have before conducting a land search?
The land officer will inquire you about the Full title details before conducting the Land search as stated above.
However, it might be a situation where you cannot find the title details of the property you want to buy due to some circumstances. Hence, there is a service called extraction of title information. A service that helped you to get the full title details of the property where the title details will be extracted from the registered document in the land office.
But still, you need to provide at least this item for the preliminary checking stage to detect the existence of the property:
- Google Pin; OR
- Address Location; OR
- Lot, Mukim, Daerah; OR
- Coordinate Google Map
Read more about Extraction of Title Information HERE.
What's the turnaround time for my land search?
Depends on the situation, if you give the correct title details and there is no issue with the land office system you might get the result quite fast but it depends on the type of land search you wish to conduct. Usually, it might take a longer time for an official land search since the document needs to be signed and chopped by the land officer. On the other hand, CTC might be delayed due to finding the Plan Tanah since there might be a situation where the Land office hasn’t acquired the Pelan Tanah from the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM) or your CTC need to be checked manually from the book (Haven’t transfer to the land office system).
In this situation, you might have to go back and forth to the land office in order to check your land search status. However, there is an easier way for you, EasyLaw can help you to conduct your land search. Now, you do not have to keep wasting your precious time at the land office anymore.
The turnaround time for you to receive your land search result when using EasyLaw service is:
| Types of Land Search | Estimated Turnaround Time |
|---|---|
| Private Land Search (Carian Persendirian) | 2-4 working days |
| Official Land Search (Carian Rasmi) | 14 working days |
| CTC Title (Salinan Sah Hakmilik) |
|
What are the charges to conduct a land search online?
EasyLaw charges basically are the service charges for the land office dealing. It is different from the Land office charges.
The charges were differentiated by local or outstation service exclusive to the 6% SST as of below:
| Types of Land Search | EasyLaw Local Charges (RM) | EasyLaw Outstation Charges (RM) |
|---|---|---|
| Private Land Search | *20 (except Selangor)
30 (Selangor)
|
70 |
| Official Land Search | 50 | 80 |
| CTC Title | 50 | 80 |
Refer HERE to know more about our charges.