Buying An Apartment But Building Never Finished, The Buyer Sues For Bankruptcy Law To MK

Constitutional Court Building (DOK. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - As many as 20 apartment buyers in DKI Jakarta have submitted a review of Law Number 37 of 2004 concerning Bankruptcy and Postponement of Debt Payment Obligations. A material review was submitted because the construction of the apartment purchased had not been completed.

In the inaugural trial which was held online at the Constitutional Court building, the attorney for the petitioners, Saiful Anam, said that Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Bankruptcy Law and PKPU are often used by debtors or developers who are not responsible to buyers of apartments, housing or flats.

Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Bankruptcy and PKPU Law reads in full "With due observance of the provisions as referred to in Article 56, Article 57, and Article 58, each creditor holding a pledge, fiduciary security, mortgage, mortgage, or other collateral rights over other items, can exercise its rights as if there was no bankruptcy ".

"The debtor is in a state of bankruptcy, resulting in legal uncertainty for consumers or buyers of apartments or flats who are only positioned as concurrent creditors whose position takes precedence over preferred creditors and separatists," said Saiful Anam in a hearing quoted from Antara, Friday, November 6.

He said the placement as a concurrent creditor caused apartment buyers to lose their rights in the form of payments to developers.

This is because in a bankruptcy situation, the position of the concurrent creditor in the case of settlement of the bankrupt debtor's assets will only get the distribution of the bankruptcy assets according to the percentage, not according to the provisions for consumer losses.

Therefore, the petitioners asked the Constitutional Court to declare Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Bankruptcy and PKPU Law contrary to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and do not have binding legal force if the buyer does not interpret it as a separatist creditor.

The applicants are buyers of the Antasari 45 Apartment unit marketed by developer PT Prospek Duta Sukses (PDS) since 2014. In the agreement, the apartment will be handed over in 2017, but until 2020 the construction has not been completed as promised.