Three dates, not one
The date a brochure gives you is an expected completion — when the building itself is finished. After that the developer's architect or engineer issues the certificate of completion and compliance, confirming the building meets the approved plans and is safe to occupy. Only then does the developer serve notice of vacant possession, which is the moment the home becomes yours to enter, renovate and move into.
| Stage | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Completion | The building is physically finished | Nothing yet — you cannot enter |
| Certificate of completion and compliance | Certified as built to approved plans and safe to occupy | Your bank prepares the final release |
| Notice of vacant possession | The developer hands over, keys and all | Pay the balance due, inspect, collect keys |
| Defect liability period | Usually 24 months from vacant possession | Report defects in writing; the developer must make good |
The practical upshot is that a project stating completion in mid-2027 is a project you might move into towards the end of 2027, and a completed project is one where the only remaining wait is your own loan and renovation. That is a genuinely different purchase, and it is why we keep the already-built ones on the same list.
How reliable is the date on the brochure?
It depends where it came from. A date the developer has formally filed is a commitment made on the record and tends to be set conservatively, because delivering late is expensive for the developer. A date that appears only in marketing material, with nothing filed behind it, is softer — an intention rather than an undertaking.
Either way, the date that binds is neither of those. It is the delivery period written into your sale and purchase agreement, usually expressed as a number of months from the date the agreement is signed. That clause is what a court would read, and it is the one to check before you sign rather than after.
What you are owed if it is late
For a residential project sold under the Housing Development Act, the standard sale and purchase agreement entitles you to liquidated ascertained damages if vacant possession is delivered late. The rate is commonly 10% per annum of the purchase price, calculated daily from the promised date until the day possession is actually delivered. You do not have to prove a loss; the figure is set in the agreement.
That remedy hangs on the project being sold under the Act. Not every high-rise is — a scheme on commercial land sold as a serviced residence may or may not be, and the answer differs project to project. It is a direct question with a direct answer, and it is worth asking before you sign rather than discovering the answer during a delay.
Where the Act does not apply, whatever remedy you have is whatever the contract gives you, which is usually less. That is not a reason to avoid those projects. It is a reason to know which kind you are buying, and to price the difference into your decision.
The launches handing over soonest
Each shows the completion date stated on its own page. A project publishing a range that runs past 2027, or a date that has already slipped, is not on this list:
Completing by 202716 projects, from RM430,000 · compare them side by sideSee the list →Buying early against buying late
A new launch is billed progressively: you pay as the building goes up, and your instalments start small and grow. That is easier on a household whose income is still rising, and it means your money is committed for years before you can use the home. Buying something already completed reverses both — full instalment from month one, keys in months rather than years.
The other trade is choice. The widest selection of units and the best pricing come at launch, years before completion. By the time a project is finished, what is left is what did not sell, at a price that reflects the building actually existing. Which side of that suits you depends on whether you are buying somewhere to live in soon or an asset to hold.