By Jacqueline George

Do you have a land title? Anyone having a land title classified as payable will be issued with a land rent book and required to pay a minimal sum of land rent annually.

Take a closer look at your land title and you will notice that there is a clause that spells out the requirement to pay land rent.

Rates for land rent are determined by the category of land (town, suburban or country land) and usage on the land (for the purpose of commercial, industrial, office/institution, recreational, residential or agriculture).

Payment of rent must be made on or before the date of the registration of land title in the Land and Survey offices. This date is clearly indicated at the bottom of the left hand corner of your land title. The same date is also stamped on the rent booklet.

Land rent can be paid at all revenue counters of the Land and Survey Offices as well as the counters of district and sub-district offices throughout Sarawak.

For the convenience of landowners, the Department allows online payment through www.paybillsmalaysia.com, where subscribers are also notified a month prior to the due date of the anniversary date of their land title. Landowners who have paid their land rent through paybillsmalaysia may update their rent booklet at any revenue counter of Land and Survey offices in Sarawak.

Every payment of land rent must be printed on the rent booklet and therefore it is crucial for landowners to present the rent booklet whenever making their payment.

In an effort to assist landowners, especially those from the low-income group, the Land and Survey Department permits land rent to be paid in stages within a year, provided that complete payment is made before the anniversary date of the land title.

A surcharge of 50 percent will be levied on those who failed to settle their land rent on time.

Payment of land rent is mandatory by virtue of Section 22 and Section 24 of the Sarawak Land Code. Failure to pay land rent is deemed as breaching the implied condition of the land title and defaulters can be subjected to statutory action, such as their land being taken back by the government under Section 33 of the Land Code. There have been several cases where land has been taken back by the government as a result of failing to settle an outstanding amount of land rent.

Over the years, the Land and Survey Department has undertaken various efforts to improve the collection of land rent. The Department has reached out to the masses through letters, phone calls, and electronic mails. The Department has even gone a step further by sending reminders right to the doorstep of landowners who failed to settle their land rent.

In February 2009, the Department formed its own Revenue Recovery Unit, tasked to aggressively recover the outstanding amount of rent owed to the government. Landowners who failed to settle their land rent will be issued with notice of demand and subsequently a warning letter if the rent is still not settled. If the warning letter is ignored, the land will be caveated and should there be no response from the landowner within a given grace period, the land could be taken back by the government in accordance with the provisions of Section 33 of the Land Code. One of the most common factors linked to non-payment of land rent is ignorance among individuals. Among companies, bankruptcy or liquidation of companies has been identified as the main factor for nonpayment of rent and this is predominant among titles issued for industrial and commercial purposes.

As land rent is one of the major revenue sources for the State, it is imperative for the Land and Survey Department to ensure that land rent is assessed correctly and promptly collected. It is also important for members of the public and the business community to understand they have an obligation to settle their land rent promptly.

The writer is a Senior Land Officer at the Land and Survey Headquarters and can be contacted at jacquegp@sarawak.gov.my