About Permata
A quiet practice built on careful listening.
We founded Permata because the standard approach to apartment rental in Kuala Lumpur left too much to chance and too little to care.
← Back to HomeOur Story
Founded with a different idea of what service means.
Permata began in 2017 when its founders — a property lawyer and a long-stay relocation advisor — noticed that clients arriving in Kuala Lumpur were consistently being shown too many properties too quickly, with too little attention to what they had actually described as important.
The word permata means gem in Malay — a quiet acknowledgement that the right residence for a person is not always the most prominent or the most recently listed, but the one that fits them. Finding it takes patience and knowledge, not volume.
We began by working with a small number of professional clients relocating from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the Gulf. Over time, the practice grew through referral rather than advertising, which shaped the kind of work we do: measured, personal, and without pressure on either side of the arrangement.
Today, Permata offers three structured services covering the full range of rental needs — from the first shortlist through to lease management across a multi-year tenure. Each service is staffed by an advisor who handles your case personally and is available to you throughout the process.
Our Mission
To help each client find a residence in Kuala Lumpur that genuinely suits them — not the most available, not the most convenient to show, but the one that holds up over years of daily life.
How We Work
Every client engagement begins with a conversation, not a catalogue. We ask about what matters most — light, quiet, building character, kitchen, proximity to specific places — and build from there. We do not charge based on what you rent, only on the service we provide.
8+
Years
340+
Clients
5
Districts
The Team
The people you will hear from.
Each advisor at Permata carries a small, manageable number of active clients at any given time. This is by design.
Rohan Hamid
Founding Advisor
Former property lawyer with fifteen years across the KL residential market. Rohan leads all lease review and tenancy coordination matters and oversees complex long-stay arrangements.
Serena Lim
Residence Advisor
Serena specialises in sourcing for clients relocating from overseas. She conducts pre-viewings, writes detailed residence notes, and coordinates viewings across Hampshire, Bangsar, and Mont Kiara.
Amir Tazaki
Concierge Programme Lead
Amir manages long-stay relationships and acts as the ongoing point of contact for clients enrolled in the Concierge Programme — from move-in setup through to renewal negotiations.
Our Standards
How we hold ourselves to account.
Fee Transparency
Our fees are stated clearly in writing before work begins. We do not accept referral payments from landlords or property developers.
Client Confidentiality
Client information — including preferences, financial circumstances, and tenancy details — is handled with strict confidentiality and never shared with third parties without consent.
Pre-Visit Verification
Every property we shortlist is physically visited by an advisor before being presented to a client. We verify title status and speak with building management prior to any client viewing.
Agreement Review Protocol
We follow a structured clause-by-clause review for every tenancy agreement, flagging non-standard terms and advising on negotiation approach before any document is signed.
Responsive Communication
We respond to all client enquiries within one working day. For ongoing matters, your advisor is accessible directly by phone or message during office hours.
Board of Valuers Alignment
Our advisory work is conducted in accordance with the professional standards set by Malaysia's Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers.
Our Approach
Kuala Lumpur's residential landscape is genuinely varied — from the older Art Deco-influenced buildings of Bukit Bintang to the quiet low-density towers of Hampshire Park, from the expatriate communities around Mont Kiara to the walkable neighbourhood character of Bangsar. Each district has its own building management culture, its own relationship between listed price and genuine condition, and its own sense of what daily life feels like at street level.
Permata was built around the belief that knowing those distinctions in depth — accumulated through years of working in and across those districts, visiting buildings in different seasons, speaking with residents about their experience after the first year — is the foundation of useful advice. It is not something that can be gathered from a property portal.
We work with a limited number of clients at any one time so that each relationship can be given the attention it warrants. Clients who have worked with us on a short sourcing engagement have gone on to engage us for lease coordination, and later for long-stay management, because the trust established in those earlier conversations made subsequent stages easier for everyone.
We believe that finding an apartment you genuinely want to live in — one that suits your rhythm, your light preferences, your need for quiet or proximity to particular places — is worth taking the time to get right. That patience is the core of what Permata offers.
Work With Us
We would be glad to speak with you.
Reach out with a brief description of what you are looking for. We will respond within one working day.
Begin an Enquiry