The sale and purchase agreement between Johan and Nabil is null and void as a temporary occupation license cannot be transferred. The land office can terminate the license due to breach of conditions without compensation. Johan cannot claim compensation from the land office for the house built on the land.

1. areej@iium.edu.my

2. BY ALIENATION
Alienation confers proprietary
rights.
RP has right of dealings with
the land etc.
OTHER THAN BY ALIENATION
1. Reservation
2. Permit
3. Temporary Occupation
License
These types of disposals
confer ‘non-proprietary rights’
relating to land.

3. 

Section 62
SA may reserve State land for any public purpose

4. 



Permits for extraction, removal and
transportation of rock material.
Rocks can only be utilised within the
boundary. Need permit in order to remove it
from the boundary.
From any State land, alienated land, reserved
land and mining land.
Consent from the relevant people are
required. Section 71

5. 

Section 65
SA may permit TOL under:
 State land
 Mining land (not being used for mining)
 Reserved land (not being used for the purposed
reserved)

6. GENERAL PURPOSE TOL



Section 67
Form 4A
May be renewed up to 3
times, or more with
consent of SA
SPECIAL PURPOSE TOL



Section 69 (TOL combined
with permit to extract and
remove rock material)
Form 4B
Maximum term of 5 years
or more than 5 years with
approval of SA

7. Section 67 (1)
“Every TOL …shall be issued for a term expiring not
later than the end of the calendar year in which it
commences…”
 However, it may be renewed on application of
licensee



8. 

Trial judge:
“the holder under a TOL obtains no legal or
equitable rights over the land he occupies by
virtue of the license other than to occupy the
land temporarily from year if he can have his
licence renewed annually…but there is no
obligation on the part of the authorities to
grant a renewal of a TOL license for any
subsequent year…”

9. 



Section 67 (3)
On application of the licensee
Renew for a term not more than 1 calendar year
“Provided that there shall not be more than 3
renewals…” except with the approval of SA.

10. 



S 67(3): Every TOL is subject to the conditions
stated in the license
See Form 4A, Schedule
May not plant permanent crops or erect
permanent buildings.
The land may not be used for any purpose
other than those permitted and stipulated in
the license

11. 
TOL confers non-proprietory rights
 No right to sell/transfer/transmit upon death/anything
that amounts to an assignment of the TOL holder’s
rights and interest under the TOL –S 68
 The TOL is personal to the holder

TOL holder may enjoy other rights which do not
amount to a transfer
 Has the right to possession of the land, therefore the
right to sue for trespass
 Has the right to grant tenancy

12.  Papoo v Veeriah


"A temporary occupation licence is exactly
what the name implies. It is a licence to
occupy (State Land) and nothing more…”
“The license is personal to the holder; it dies
with the holder.”

13. 



TOL holder can sue for trespass
Julaika Bibi v Mydin [1961]
However, in Mohamed v Kunji Mohidin [1967]
Two TOLs were issued in respect of the same
land. Held: the appl and resp share
possession of the land.

14. 





Govindaraju v Krishnan
The TOL holder rented out two rooms.
He later terminated the tenancy. The tenants
refused to leave the premises.
The tenants argued that the tenancy was void
because he was a mere licensee.
Issue: Whether the letting of the rooms on a
tenancy amounted to a transfer
Court: The tenancy did NOT amount to a
transfer of his rights under the TOL.

15. 



Section 68
Every TOL shall not be capable of assignment
Confers personal rights on the holder
Any transaction amounting to a transfer or
assignment of any rights under the TOL is null and
void

16. 

Hoe Cheng v Krishnan [1955] MLJ 103.
The plaintiff claimed specific performance or
alternatively for damages for a breach of
contract entered into between him and the
defendant for the purchase of a house built upon
a piece of State land held under a temporary
occupation licence.

Held: that the alleged contract was in fact an
attempt to sell and to purchase defendant's
rights under the T.O.L. and was therefore
unlawful.

17. 



Paruvathy v Krishnan [1983] – gave “equal
shares in the land” to two other persons.
Court: contravenes S 68, null and void
Note: Compare with Cheo Lean How v Fock
Fong Looi [1985] 2 MLJ 440
 the TOL holder was not the person who
sold the house, the court held that the sale
agreement was not in breach of the law.

18. 
Hee Cheng case can be distinguished from the
facts of Cheo Lean How v Fock Fong Looi in
that Too Sun, the holder of the temporary
occupation licence did not sell the dwelling
house erected on State land held under
temporary licence to Loke Seng. It was Chung
Yen, his friend, who sold the building to Loke
Seng. Too Sun merely signed as a witness and
he was not a party to the transaction.

19. Section 68
“Every TOL…shall terminate on the death of the
person…”
 Therefore, not capable of being inherited




Papoo v Veeriah [1965]
Fatimah v Mohideen Kutty [1969]

20. Application to transfer house built on TOL land to
the widow of the TOL holder.
 Good J:
 “ A TOL is exactly what the name implies. It is a
license to occupy and nothing more…The license is
personal to the holder; it dies with the holder.”


 Neither the TOL land nor anything erected on it
can be transferred during the lifetime of the TOL
holder nor can it be passed by inheritance after his
death.

21. 
Teh Bee v K Maruthamuthu


Ajaib Singh:
“…the licence may be cancelled immediately,
and without payment of compensation, upon
the breach of any provision to which the licence
is subject but otherwise a subsisting licence may
be cancelled at any time before the date of
expiry only upon payment of compensation…”

See also: Schedule to Form 4A, paragraph 5.

22. 
“But in no circumstances, however, can a
person who has occupied land on a TOL
acquire a right to be compensated by a
subsequent holder of a TOL of the land or a
subsequent registered proprietor thereof…for
any expense that he might have incurred over
the land…”

23. 
The ex-licensee who remains on the land is a
squatter / trespasser

Public Prosecutor v Yap Tai [1947]
No further renewal of TOL was granted.
Prosecuted for unlawful occupation of State
land.
Court: The true position of the ex-licensee
was that of a trespasser.




24. 



All buildings existing on the land shall revert
to the State Authority without compensation
upon termination or expiry of the TOL
Section 47 (1) & (2)
Teh Bee v K. Maruthamuthu
Papoo v Veeriah

25. 
Nabil possess a piece of agriculture land in Nilai,
upon which he has built a concrete house. In
February 2011, Nabil agreed to sell the land and
house to Johan for RM50,000 under a sale and
purchase agreement. Unknown to Johan, the
land was actually held under a temporary
occupation licence that will expire on 31st
December 2011. Johan later found out that the
land office has sent a notice to Nabil to
terminate the temporary occupation licence for
breach of conditions.

26. 
Advise Johan on the following:

Whether he has any legal interest in the land and
house based on the sale and purchase agreement that
he signed with Nabil?

Whether the temporary occupation license can be
terminated by the land office due to breach of
conditions and the effect of termination thereof?

Whether he can claim compensation from the land
office for the house built on the land?