Monday 29 October 2012

New Management Act to provide more power


By Andrew Batt:

The Strata Management Act of 2012 (SMA), once passed, will enable the management of a gated community to apply for a court order to seize and auction the property of a unit owner who failed to pay the monthly management fee.

Owners of strata titled properties are fully aware that they need to pay a monthly management fee for the security services rendered, according to Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung in an interview with the Sin Chew Daily. This rule also applies to condominiums and gated apartments. The SMA will replace the Building and Common Property Act of 2007.

The Building and Common Property Act of 2007 already empowers the management of strata titled properties to take the above stated action against delinquent property owners. However, many people are not aware of this since it is not clearly defined in the law, explained Chor.

But the government cannot do anything to unit owners who refuse to pay for security services, if there is no stipulation for such in the sale-and-purchase agreement.

Moreover, unit owners of a housing area need only get the approval of 51 percent of all the residents to establish a guarded community, compared with 80 percent under the present law.

Chor also pointed out that roads within a gated community are considered private property. Therefore residents in the area have the right to deny access to non-residents.
“On the other hand, roads within a guarded community are public property. The security guards have no right to deny non-residents access to the area,” he added.

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