Developed by China’s R&F Group, Princess Cove’s proximity to Singapore is a key selling point, with a 650m covered pedestrian bridge connecting the development directly to Johor Bahru’s Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex.
According to a draft court order seen by CNA, the dispute centred on R&F’s decision to divide the original first phase of the development into two separate phases, known as Phase 1A and Phase 1B.
Buyers of units in three residential blocks – A1, A2 and A7 – received their keys on Oct 25, 2017, but the original Phase 1 development was only completed in November 2018.
The court ruled that because R&F had breached the purchase agreements by splitting Phase 1 into two, November 2018 should be treated as the relevant handover date instead of October 2017.
This meant that although buyers received their units in 2017, the developer was only considered to have fulfilled its handover obligations in November 2018. The later date was then used to calculate the compensation for late delivery.
The court ordered R&F to compensate buyers of the 84 units for delays involving both their units and shared facilities.
Compensation was calculated at 10 per cent a year of each property’s purchase price, while compensation for shared facilities was calculated at 10 per cent a year of one-fifth of the purchase price.
The buyers were awarded roughly RM34,000 to RM196,000 per unit for late delivery, and an additional RM6,900 to RM39,000 for delays in the completion of shared facilities.
R&F was also ordered to refund their maintenance fees, sinking fund contributions and water deposits collected before Nov 8, 2018.
The buyers were represented by lawyers NG Vinod and Rashmeet Kaur, while Josiah Tea and V Mavin Rajah represented R&F Development.
Vinod told CNA that his clients whose claims were dismissed intend to appeal the decision.
