Some strata property owners may not be aware of regulations regarding maintenance fees. — Photo courtesy of Lafite Apartments
STRATA property owners may find it difficult to navigate through the many rules and regulations related to their maintenance fee payments.
Senior lawyer Ramesh Sivakumar said the obligation for the owners to pay maintenance fees was provided for by the sales and purchase (SPA)agreement they signed with the developers when buying their units, as well as the Strata Management Act (SMA) 2013.
“It is therefore crucial to read the agreement carefully before buying any unit.
“As long as it is stated, owners cannot question the developers for imposing the maintenance charges,” said Ramesh who has more than 25 years of experience in corporate and criminal litigation, including land matters.
He also said the owners could reach out to the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) if they were unhappy with the maintenance fees imposed.
“Typically, COBs only handle disputes that involve a breach of the law.
“SMA prescribes that the maintenance fee must be in proportion to the share units held by the owners.
“Share units take into account various factors such as voting rights, share in common property, contribution to maintenance and administrative expenses, and proportional liability for the debts of the management bodies,” he explained.
Section 60(3)(b) of SMA prescribes that management bodies should impose charges on the proprietors in proportion to the share units or provisional share units of their respective parcels or provisional blocks.
As long as it is stated in the SPA, owners cannot question developers for imposing maintenance charges. — Photo: LEW GUAN XI/The Star
The Strata Titles Act 1985 defines share units as those determined for a parcel as shown in the strata register.
Ramesh said strata property unit owners could also change the management bodies if they were dissatisfied with the latter’s services.
For the management bodies, he said Section 33 of SMA granted them the power to recover outstanding maintenance fees from defaulters, though it did not specifically address the collection methods that they could adopt.
“In practice, management bodies have offered flexible payment schemes like an instalment plan for the defaulters.
“At the end of the day, the fees need to be collected to maintain the facilities,” he said.
However, waiving the interest for outstanding payments should not be an option for the management bodies as it is against the SMA, according to Ramesh.
“Some kind of detriments must be imposed on the defaulters, to push them to pay their fees on time,” he noted.
Section 52(5) of SMA prescribes that owners who do not pay their outstanding fees within 14 days after a notice by the developer is issued to them, will need to pay interest at the rate of 10% per annum on a daily basis.
Ramesh added that he personally disagreed with giving discounts to defaulters as it was unfair to those who paid on time, and that it was against the objective and spirit of SMA although the Act did not specifically address the matter. —
