Strata Act seizures

Come out with maintenance fees or out goes your furniture, TV, rice cookers . . .

Hardcore defaulters on condo or apartment maintenance payments may have their units raided and the movable items inside – such as TVs, appliances and smartphones – seized by the authorities. The Strata Management Act 2013 gives more power to building management bodies to take action on errant owners, with the backing of local councils and the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry. And the seizures have begun! PETALING JAYA:

Knock, knock, who’s there?

Officers from the Kajang Municipal Council’s Commissioner of Buildings unit and Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry seizing items from a defaulter during a raid at an apartment in Bangi. Confiscated

The answer could be the authorities, here to seize your belongings if you are a condo owner who defaulted on maintenance fees.
The Government is intensifying enforcement efforts against condominium and apartment owners who fail to pay up. And it means business.
In fact, the seizures have already begun. For the first time under the Strata Management Act 2013, five units at an apartment in Bangi, Selangor, were raided in May because of their owners’ failure to settle fees totalling thousands of ringgit.

Movable items like flat­screen TVs, smartphones and even appliances like rice cookers and gas tanks were seized by the apartment’s management body, the Kajang Municipal Council’s Commissioner of Buildings (COB) unit, and the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry.
The items were later auctioned off to settle outstanding fees or reclaimed by the owners who finally paid up.
Such action will be stepped up to get more defaulters to toe the line.

“Similar enforcement efforts, including seizures, will be extended to various locations nationwide,” the ministry’s urban service division senior principal assistant secretary Mohd Syaifulrizal Mohd Bakar told The Star.

In fact, five other raids were conducted so far this year by the ministry, together with the respective local councils’ COB.
Mohd Syaifulrizal said there was no minimum amount of outstanding fees needed for such seizures to be conducted.
“As long as the joint management body (JMB) or management corporation (MC) of a condo or apartment has served a written notice to demand payment from the unit owner, and it is unpaid after 14 days, enforcement can take place.

“The JMB or MC can serve a warrant to the defaulters with the help of the COB and ministry,” he said.
Aside from seizing items, other actions that the JMB and MC can take include filing a summons in court against defaulters and filing a claim in the Strata Management Tribunal formed under the Act.

The Act, which came into effect in July 2015, gives more bite to management bodies in taking action against errant unit owners.
Calling it more comprehensive than the repealed Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act, Mohd Syaifulrizal said the new law had also led to a slight improvement in property management standards.

“The ministry wants more JMBs and MCs to practise better quality management and maintenance to foster a harmonious and healthy living community,” Mohd Syaifulrizal said.

Source: The Star, 5 September 2017

Strata Management Act (Act 757)

The new Act will replace the Building and Joint Property (Management and Maintenance) 2007 (Act 663).

You can download a copy at:

Strata Management Act – AGC Link

or at NZX Commercial Document Centre:

Strata Management Act – NZX Link

This Act 757 shall be read and construed with the Strata Title Act 1985 (Act 318) and the subsidiary legislation made under that Act in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or the regulations made under this Act.

A leader among residents

28 July 2012 | The Star Malaysia  | Chang Kim Loong

THE concept of a management body should be fairly clear to a management corporations’ council members or even many long-time strata property owners. For non-involved owners and residents – especially first-time owners – this form of common-interest ‘governance’ can be perplexing and, at times, bewildering, what with the many parties (developers, managing agent, management council, other buyers, etc) involved as well as with the legal duties of each party.

Those who have never lived in an owners’ corporation (condo, apartments, townhouses, gated communities) often do not understand the necessity of service charges, sinking fund, rules and volunteering to sit in the management council. For them, the “management” may be perceived as little more than a nebulous entity that expects prompt payment on monthly invoices. This lack of understanding can lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding with the general perception that condo living is “hard”.

Required by law

Call it by whatever name, Joint Management Body (JMB), Management Corporation (MC), Residents Association, they are all basically a community association of property owners looking out for their best interest. In the first two, it is a requirement by law for strata titled property under the Strata Titles Act, 1985 and the new Building and Common Property (Management and Maintenance) Act, 2007 (BCP), whereas Residents’ Association are voluntary organisations registered as a society.

The new BCP Act now allows the formation of a joint management body from the start and owners do not have to wait till the first annual general meeting called by the developer to have a say in how their investment is managed and maintained.

Very often, only a small percentage of owners in condominiums or other types of strata titled development take interest in how their properties are managed. This leaves the handful of volunteers burned out after years of volunteering their services. There are also some who are interested but do not have the knowledge or skill to sit in the decision making council.

Challenging duties

In the BCP, the joint management committee representing the purchasers should comprise a minimum of five purchasers and a maximum of 12. Whereas, in the Strata Titles Act, the management council should consist of a minimum of three parcel owners and a maximum of 14.

Although these are voluntary positions, they have to be taken seriously because they involve people and their investments. Most owners’ corporations are headed by a leader who might also be the chairman at meetings. Strong leadership is an essential component of every successful owners’ corporation. Very often, those who speak the loudest at meetings are elected but that may not be sufficient for the long term.

A good leader can make a difference for an owners’ corporation spirit. By considering the strength and qualities it takes to succeed, selecting your leader can in a very real way, lead to a more productive and happy community. Here are some tips on how to choose the leader of your home community.

“A manager does things the right way and a leader does the right thing.”

A leader is someone who not only recognises the “right thing”, but who can also motivate others to help him get the right thing done. Strong leaders should have skills, knowledge and experience plus the abilities to motivate and command.

How to distinguish leadership quality

How do you recognise who has this special combination of insight and inspiration?

There are personal characteristics that point to strong leadership style. Look for people who display these particular abilities:

• Ability to take criticism – No one in a position of power will escape criticism. Leaders have the ability to discern when criticism is valid and when it is not.
• An open mind – A leader must be able to approach a problem creatively. Perspective is an invaluable leadership tool. A council/committee that is afraid of change will stagnate.
• Communicate well – Explains, persuades and praises. Some volunteers are not particularly articulate, yet are valuable and productive. Leaders should be able to express ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Decisiveness – Taking a stand involves making mistakes. A good leader takes a stand and if an error is made, acknowledges it and makes a course correction.
• Enthusiasm – Enthusiasm is contagious. With it, council members are motivated to keep volunteering. Without it, voluntary work becomes a burden.
• Leads by example and promotes teamwork – Arrives on time, never shirks responsibilities and demonstrates good work habits. Instills cooperation among volunteers, making it easy for them to pitch in together. Pitches in alongside others and not just issue orders for others to follow up.
• Listens to others – Source for and uses other’s ideas and gives credit when credit’s due.
• Problem solving skill – Uses knowledge and experience to help get the job done.
• Sensitivity – A genuinely caring leader inspires confidence in others. Confidence leads to results. Leaders delegate, give and seek constructive feedback. A leader knows how and when to give praise. Praise is the simplest and often the most valued form of reward. A leader knows how to criticize constructively: pointing out what is wrong without attacking personalities. A good leader seeks opinions and ideas from others.
• Sound judgment – Has the ability to identify and prioritise issues. A good leader then weighs alternatives carefully before making decisions.
• Takes responsibility – Never blames others for problems.
• Vision – A strong leader understands and promotes the community’s best interests. Leaders set goals, communicate what’s needed to achieve them and then move toward them.

Useful tips

Here are some tips to consider when electing the leaders of your owners’ corporation:

A leader should understand the functions of the owners’ corporation and be familiar with significant historical events of the community. Newcomers frequently make good volunteers. However, there are some situations which call for someone possessing a historical perspective. For example, if the corporation is in the midst of a sensitive litigation or a new management contract, a newcomer might detract by insisting on covering old ground again.

How much interest has the candidate shown in the community and its undertakings? Has there been regular meeting attendance and participation in activities? If not, investigate the sudden interest. Be particularly careful about “one issue” candidates who volunteers because they dislike a certain contractor or are opposed to a recent service charges increase.

A candidate should not have conflicting personal and professional commitments. For example, a high public profile candidate may have numerous commitments that mean infrequent participation.

If all the above sounds to you like a mini-government, it is in fact one. If you own a home with common property, you automatically become a member, like it or not. Over time, we have noticed that home owners can be categorised into three groups – those who make things happen, those who wait for things to happen and those who asked what happened. Which group do you belong to? Choose your leaders well and prosper or wait for the next election at the annual general meeting and run for council member post.

Chang Kim Loong is the honorary secretary-general of the National House Buyers Association or HBA in short. He is also a third term councillor of Subang Jaya Municipal Council. For more information, you are welcome to visit: http://www.hba.org.my

KEWAJIPAN PEMBELI MENYEMPURNAKAN MILIK HAKMILIK STRATA

(a)  Pemilik asal menurut kuatkuasa Seksyen 40A Akta A 1290 (Akta Hakmilik Strata) mempunyai kewajipan mandatori untuk memindah milik hakmilik-hakmilik strata yang telah didaftarkan atas namanya itu kepada pembeli-pembeli.

 

(b)   Pemilik asal dan pembeli-pembeli hendaklah menyempurnakan pindah milik hakmilik strata tersebut dalam tempoh dua belas (12) bulan seperti berikut:

(i)           Pemilik asal – 12 bulan bermula dari tarikh notis Borang 5F ditandatangani oleh Pentadbir Tanah dan berakhir pada tarikh notis pemindahan hakmilik strata dikeluarkan oleh pemilik asal kepada pembeli atau dalam apa-apa tempoh lanjutan lain yang diluluskan oleh Pengarah Tanah dan Galian Negeri

(ii)          Pembeli – 12 bulan bermula dari tarikh notis pemindahan hakmilik strata dikeluarkan oleh pemilik asal kepada pembeli dan berakhir pada tarikh penerimaan dan penyaksian pindah milik melalui Borang 14A disempurnakan oleh pemilik atau dalam apa-apa tempoh lanjutan yang diluluskan oleh Pengarah Tanah dan Galian Negeri.

(c)   Kegagalan pemilik asal dan pembeli menyempurnakan pindah milik hakmilik strata dalam tempoh yang ditetapkan itu adalah suatu kesalahan dan apabila disabitkan, boleh dikenakan denda tidak kurang daripada RM1,000.00 dan tidak lebih daripada RM10,000.00 setiap petak.

Semua pemilik berdaftar di Kondominium Danau Murni telah pun menerima surat berdaftar daripada Peguam Norasmadi dan Noraini bertarikh 29 Jun 2009 menasihatkan supaya menyempurnakan dokumen pemindahan hakmilik strata dalam masa 12 bulan daripada tarikh tersebut. Kegagalan berbuat demikian hanya merugikan pembeli sendiri kerana mereka boleh dikenakan denda daripada pentadbir tanah iaitu PTGWPKL dan mereka tidak dapat melibatkan diri dalam Perbadanan Pengurusan nanti.