Sutiyoso sets deadline on homes used as businesses

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso gave officials in five municipalities a one- month deadline to regularize houses used as commercial premises or business places.

"I instructed my subordinates this morning to register all converted buildings across the city in order to regularize them," he said at City Hall on Monday.

Within a month, city officials will carry out a reregistration of converted buildings, especially to check if the owners of the buildings have permission from the government to do business there.

Sutiyoso said if building owners failed to produce permits, the officials could close down the businesses.

"If building owners can show permits for their businesses or commercial operations, we will allow them to run the business but will not renew the permits," he said.

To ensure that the regularizing process runs smoothly, Sutiyoso has appointed the assistant to the City Secretary for Development Affairs, IGKG Suena, to coordinate with other relevant officials.

Any changes to building use that are carried out without the knowledge of the city's Building Arrangement and Supervision Agency (PPB), are against Bylaw No. 7/1991 on buildings in the city. Unfortunately, the bylaw has been infrequently enforced since its issuance in 1991, as other agencies can also issue a permit, although the issuance does not take into account the existing building use permit.

Sutiyoso admitted that an overlap in city regulations had led to the chaos with regard to the building use permit system.

"There are several regulations that must be revised," he said, without elaborating.

PPB head Djumhana Tjakrawirja said the change to commercial use of houses had left most of them in serious danger as they were not designed to contain the safety features required for commercial and business purposes.

So far, the administration has prioritized several areas in the city where the practice of converting homes to commercial and business space has been particularly marked. The areas include Pondok Indah, Kemang and Kebayoran Baru, all in South Jakarta, and Menteng, Central Jakarta.

On April 20, Sutiyoso established a special team to regulate the converted buildings. The team, manned by 102 officers representing different agencies in the administration, would patrol the city to search for the buildings.

The team head, who is also the Jakarta Public Order Agency head, Soebagio, said the team would begin by focusing its efforts on Pondok Indah and Menteng, both known as upmarket residential areas.

He said houses in both areas had been converted into education centers, travel agencies, beauty parlors, cafes, health clinics and restaurants.

Soebagio added his special team would expand its work into other areas of the city, including Kebayoran Baru.