theSun Property September 2016

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HAVING run a series of
articles on the plight
of condo dwellers, we
end our series with advice
fromChris Tan of Chur Associates.
Strata owners should be aware
of their rights and responsibilities
nowmore than ever, Tan stresses.
“Developers will not bemanaging
the strata property forever, hence,
the owners will have to take full
responsibility for the entire building
eventually,” he reasons.
Furthermore, with the newStrata
Management Act 2013 (SMA 2013)
redefining the basis of strata living
andwarranting self-management
and self-sufficiency, Tan feels strata
owners should be aware of their
basic rights and obligations as
owners of this property type.
10 BASIC RIGHTS OF
STRATAOWNERS
1) Providemandate direction to
themanagement
A Joint Management Body (JMB) is
tasked tomanage andmaintain the
common property in strata
developments from the time of
delivery of vacant possession by
the developer to the purchasers
until theManagement Corporation
(MC) is formed. TheMC can only
be established after strata titles have
been issued and at least, a quarter of
the aggregate share units have been
transferred to the owners. This gap
in time of forming theMC is also
meant to be a grace period for the
owners to learn the trade of
managing their own propertywhile
holding the hand of the developer.
As a strata owner, you effectively
own a part of the “company”, hence,
you have a say in its matters. Strata
owners should attend their Annual
General Meeting (AGM) as the
condominium (strata property) is
their investment, and they should
play an active role in appointing the
board of members and the
representatives for condo owners.
As an owner, youwill have access to
the financial accounts and if you are
unhappy over amatter, operating
manner or other issues, you are able
to do something about it
collectively. Another important
reason to attend the AGM is the
meeting will also see the tabling of
themaintenance budget for the
following year.
Owners will want to ensure that
a good budget is planned – one
whichwill generate sufficient
income collection of service charge
(SC) in order to accommodate the
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PART2
common property. These areas
must be clearly defined andmarked
on a special plan, whichmust be
submitted to the director of survey.
This is especially useful for
mixed developments, where the
owners of commercial units do not
utilise certain common property.
For instance, an office unit owner
will not use the swimming pool
facility. Hence, it would be feasible
to assign separate sub-management
corporations whichwill be
in charge of the respective group,
besides enabling the
implementation of specific SC for
residential, office and retail owners
respectively. A sub-MC could also
be created for the limited use of a
common property. For instance,
the allocation of a private rooftop
garden for the use of penthouse
owners only.
10) Right to dispute the legality
of attachment of moveable
property
The COB has the right to issue an
attachment for strata owners who
fail to pay their service charge on
time.
AWarrant of Attachment (Form
A in the third Schedule of
the SMA 2013) will be issued,
following which the COBwill hire
people to confiscate the defaulter’s
removable property (car, settee,
television etc). If the attachment is
done in error, however, owners can
then apply to amagistrate’s court
for the release of their property
within 14 days from the date of
attachment.
With that, Tan concludes with
this simple but “weighty” piece of
advice for owners of strata property
– Love thy neighbours!
“The community of strata
residents must realise the
importance of living in harmony
and cooperation, besides taking
charge to protect the very
investment that they live in. After
all, a “company” will function
optimally onlywhen all its owners
participate,” he says.
Followour column next week
for more news and articles on
property and real estate.
requiredmaintenance works in the
year.
2) Right to request for an
ExtraordinaryGeneral
Meeting (EGM)
To provide timely intervention in
any issues, the chairman of the
committee council shall convene
an EGMwithin sixweeks of
receiving requisition inwriting
from strata owners who are
together entitled to at least a quarter
or 25%of the aggregate share units.
There have been instances
where owners are disgruntled due
to biases such as the awarding of
maintenance work contracts to
familymembers/friends of the
management and themisuse of
funds.
If themanagement does not
oblige or entertain the request for
an EGM, owners can then seek help
from the Commissioner of Building
(COB) or the StrataManagement
Tribunal (SMT).
3) Right to request for inclusion
in the agenda
Owners also have the right to voice
their opinions and discuss any
matter they find important, by
requesting for an inclusion in the
agenda of an EGMor AGM,
provided they hand in a notice at
themanagement body’s registered
office no less than seven days
before themeeting.
jurisdiction of the SMT. Established
under the UrbanWellbeing,
Housing and Local Government
Ministry, the SMTwas formed to
provide feasible solutions to
disputes on the failure to performa
function, duty or power imposed by
the SMA 2013.
With a pecuniary jurisdiction up
to RM250,000, the SMT enables for
the solving of disputes at minimum
c o s t as no legal
representation is
allowed (thus
eliminating high
legal costs) and it has
cheaper filing fees
comparedwith a court
proceeding.
Strata owners will be
glad to know that an
awardwill bemade
without delay andwhere
practical, within 60 days
from the first day
of a hearing.
Another plus point is
there is no time frame in
filing a dispute claim. Strata
owners are eligible to claim
for the recovery of charges
or for any defect at any given time.
8) Right to file a claimagainst
common property defect
account
Common property has a defect
liability period of 24months for
residential property, similar to the
one for your strata unit. Strata
owners have the alternative to claim
for any defect in their common
property such as leakage or faulty
elevators within the defect period.
Before the handing over of units,
developers will have to submit 0.5%
of the estimated construction cost
or RM50,000, whichever is higher,
to the COB. This amount is to be
deposited into a statutory account
as a provision for any possible
defect in the development. Should
the sumbe insufficient to cover any
expense, the developer must remit
the remaining amount.
9) Right to set up a Subsidiary
Management Corporation
(SMC)
TheMCmay establish SMCs to
represent the interests of a
particular group of parcel
proprietors who are entitled to
the exclusive benefit of a limited
PHOTO:
4) Right to vote during AGM
and EGM
In order to exercise this right,
owners will have to settle all their
outstanding service charges prior to
the AGMor EGM. Those who fail to
do sowill not be allowed to vote for
any resolution. Each parcel of land
(unit) will be entitled to one vote, on
a showof hands, and on a poll, the
number of votes shall correspond
with the number of share units or
provisional share units
attached to the parcel or
provisional block.
A co-strata owner may
vote bymeans of a jointly
appointed proxy or by
appointing any one
of them. For
example, a proxy
who is
representing his
wife who owns a unit
will be able to cast a
vote on her behalf. One
matter to take note,
however, is the proxy is
not allowed to be a
committee
member if he is not an
owner.
5) Right to request for review
of SC and SF
In the event owners are dissatisfied
with the service charge or sinking
fund (SF) being implemented by the
management, where they do not
agree to an increase in SC, they
could apply for its review to the
COB. The COBwill then determine
the right amount that should be
charged or get a registered property
manager to recommend an amount.
6) Statutory presumption
Should there be any inter-floor
leakage like dampness, moisture or
water permeation on the ceiling or
any furnishingmaterial attached to
the ceiling, the owner of the upper
floor shall be responsible in the
absence of proof to the contrary.
This means that the owner of the
above unit will have to foot the
bill for repair works.
7) Right to file a claimunder the
SMT
Every strata owner’s rights are
protected under the SMT, where
any dispute related to strata
management falls under the
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theSun ON FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 23, 2016