Is Your Booking Fee Refundable? New Launch vs Subsale in Malaysia

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Most buyers assume the booking fee is refundable if things don’t work out. Check before you assume. New launches and subsales work completely differently here, and most people only find out when they try to get their money back.

New launch: booking fees aren’t supposed to exist

For a project by a licensed housing developer, Regulation 11(2) of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 says no one may collect any payment, by whatever name, before the sale and purchase agreement except as prescribed by it. In practice “booking fees” are still common, but if one has been collected and you don’t proceed, it should be returned.

Paying one also matters for another reason: the Federal Court has held that the delivery period, and therefore any late-delivery compensation, is counted from the booking fee date. Keep the receipt. See Your keys are late? The developer might owe you money.

In 2026 the Housing Ministry announced a proposed Option to Purchase framework that would allow capped, refundable booking fees with a cooling-off period. Until it is in force, the prohibition stands.

Subsale: it depends entirely on your Letter of Offer

In a subsale, the earnest deposit is legitimate, but whether you get it back depends on what the Letter of Offer (Offer to Purchase) says. Two points matter most:

• The “subject to loan approval” clause. Without it, the seller may be able to keep your deposit if you walk away, even if the reason is that your loan was rejected.
• Who holds the money. The deposit should sit with the licensed estate agency or a solicitor as stakeholder, not be paid straight to the seller. If it goes to the seller and things fall apart, getting it back is much harder.

Three things to check before you pay anything

1. Who is holding it? A stakeholder account, not the seller.
2. What triggers a refund? Loan rejection, failed state consent, title problems, and how many days you have to get loan approval.
3. Is it in writing? A verbal “don’t worry, it’s refundable” is worth nothing later.

By the time you need the refund, it is too late to negotiate the clause. I check all three before any client signs.

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About to pay a booking fee? Send me the Letter of Offer for a second pair of eyes before you sign.

Sources

• StarProperty: Time to legalise booking fees? (June 2026)
• NextSix: booking fees, EOI and what’s legal before you sign
• AskLegal: LAD and the booking fee date

General information checked on 29 September 2026, not legal advice. By Jason Lim (REN 84424, IQI Realty Sdn. Bhd.).