What legal gaps allow widespread migrant housing violations?

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Legal and Regulatory Gaps Facilitate Migrant Housing Violations

Despite the enforcement of amendments to the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446) since 2020, which mandates employers to provide comfortable accommodation and basic amenities, the pervasive practice of housing migrant workers in cramped, illegally modified units persists. This situation is largely attributable to a lack of clear guidelines on permissible internal modifications in stratified properties and significant gaps in supervisory and enforcement responsibilities across various agencies. The prioritization of profit over habitability further exacerbates these issues, leading to unsafe living conditions.
Inadequate Guidelines on Property Modifications

A significant contributing factor to the widespread violations is the absence of explicit, clear guidelines detailing the types of internal modifications permitted within stratified properties. While renovations altering layout, space usage, or occupancy capacity are subject to assessment based on Uniform Building By-Laws, the lack of specific directives allows for arbitrary alterations. These modifications, such as the creation of numerous small cubicles or makeshift rooms, are often undertaken without proper approvals, leading to serious safety risks including fire hazards due to poor ventilation and lighting, and compromising the structural integrity and utility systems of buildings due to excessive loads.
Fragmented Enforcement and Monitoring Responsibilities

The supervisory and enforcement landscape for worker accommodation is characterized by a fragmentation of responsibilities among various government agencies. This division of oversight creates critical monitoring gaps, allowing residential units to gradually be converted into high-density worker accommodation facilities without the necessary approvals or adherence to safety standards. For instance, operations have identified premises extensively modified into high-risk rental rooms, often referred to as "bird's nests," particularly in urban areas like Selangor, Penang, Johor, and Kuala Lumpur, indicating a failure in coordinated oversight.
Insufficient Inter-Agency Coordination

The effectiveness of enforcement is further hampered by a lack of robust inter-agency coordination. While integrated operations involving agencies such as the Immigration Department, police, and health departments are employed, the underlying issue of fragmented responsibilities means that continuous, effective monitoring and consistent enforcement are not always achieved. This disunity allows for practices like employers converting shop lot rooftops into hostels for foreign workers without approval to persist, highlighting the need for stronger collaborative efforts rather than solely relying on new legislation.
Penalties and Their Limited Deterrent Effect

While legal frameworks exist to penalize non-compliance, their deterrent effect appears insufficient to curb the widespread violations. Property owners undertaking renovations without local authority approval face fines of up to RM25,000 under the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133), and non-compliant buildings can be ordered for demolition. Furthermore, failure to comply with lawful orders can result in fines up to RM50,000, imprisonment up to three years, or both. However, the continued prevalence of illegal modifications and conversions into worker hostels suggests that these penalties, or their consistent application, may not be adequately addressing the issue.

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What legal gaps allow widespread migrant housing violations?

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