Developers faulted on promotional acts

JAKARTA (JP): Housing developers overexpose their promotional offers compared to more important information on housing projects, a consumer advocate said.

Ideally an exhibition should present visitors with proportional and adequate information, Sudaryatmo said at the site of the Indonesia House Exhibition '96.

"An exhibition is a kind of consumers' instrument to obtain their rights, among others the right to information," Sudaryatmo of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation said Saturday.

The foundation has a stand at this year's Indonesia House Exhibition '96, organized by private firm Debindomulti Adhiswasti. The event runs through Aug. 18.

"Important information concerns the developer's legal status," Sudaryatmo said, citing public housing ministry regulation No. 09/ 1995.

"While supplying information, the developers can tell consumers their promotional offers such as air conditioners or cars or anything else used to attract consumers," said Sudaryatmo, who works in the organization's complaint department.

After all, he said, consumers want a house -- not an air conditioner or a car.

The advocate was commenting on a statement by State Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung when opening the event on Friday afternoon.

Akbar said hundreds of consumers have sent letters to a special post office box set up by his office for complaints regarding housing.

Akbar said the government would not hesitate to revoke the licenses of developers in Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi who fail to implement their housing development plans.

The licenses would then be given to more trustworthy developers, he said as quoted by Antara on Friday.

From thousands of hectares allocated to developers in the three areas, only a few houses have been built, Akbar said.

"The government is now evaluating whether or not those developers are implementing their plans," he said.

He further said that in house purchasing contracts there is always a clause which mentions the penalty consumers face if they do not fulfill requisites, "while there is no sanction imposed on a developer which reneges on its promise", Akbar said.

Akbar expressed hope that developers do not solely seek short- term profits, which might impair their reputations.

Yosef, a bank officer who visited the exhibition Saturday, said he would rather see the location of a house first before he decided to buy it.

"I would not be easily convinced just by seeing and hearing information given by developers in this exhibition," he said.

This year's housing exhibition features 119 developers which are offering 170 housing, office, and resort projects in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok, Serang, Batam Island, Yogyakarta, Bali, Karawang, Anyer Beach and Carita.(26)