Building & Investment (Jan - Feb 2016) (Jan - Feb 2016) | Page 38

News & Events

Seminar on Strata Management Act 2015
Industry experts addressed issues and implications in day-long seminar organised by the
Building Management Association of Malaysia (BMAM).
ALTHOUGH GAZETTED ON 8 February
2013, the Strata Management Act (SMA)
2013 and its governing Strata Management
(Maintenance and Management)
Regulations (SMR) 2015, finally came into
effect on 1 June 2015, under the auspices of
the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing
and Local Government. Ostensibly to do
away with the Building and Common
Property (Maintenance and Management)
2007, the SMA and SMR serve to provide
clear-cut steps in the sales, purchase and
management of stratified properties and,
at the same time, safeguard the interests
of owners of said properties. Accordingly,
a framework is now in existence for the
establishment of a joint management body
(JMB), management corporation (MC), a
subsidiary MC, rights and responsibilities
of owners and the appointment of a
Commissioner of Buildings (COB) to
administer the new legislation.
Strata Management Seminar
However, implementation of the SMA and
34 Building & Investment | www.b-i.biz

SMR has, inadvertently, served up a number
of unforeseen issues – administrative,
operational and legal – with impact
significant enough to warrant review and,
more importantly, resolution. Hence the daylong Strata Management Seminar, organised
by the Building Management Association of
Malaysia (BMAM), where industry experts
sounded out on precautions to be taken and
pitfalls to avoid in the building, management
and maintenance of stratified properties.
Some concerns brought up at the Seminar,
themed “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”,
included:
s Section 6 (1) (a) and (b) – of the
13 sections or stages in the housing
development process – mandates the
filing of complete/final plans of schedule
of parcels (showing proposed share units
of each or proposed parcel and total
share units of all parcels) to the COB
before the sale of any parcel. In the case
of phased developments, provisional
plans, for subsequent phases, also to be
submitted, i.e., total project submission.

s

s

s

This “envisages” that plans, schedule
of parcels or share units cannot be
amended/changed without penalties.
Impractical to disallow amendments/
changes in parcels - the reality is that
minor ones need to be done from
viewpoint of “architecture, engineering,
aesthetics,
constructability,
site
constraints, availability of materials, etc.”
This problem is further compounded
in the case of mixed developments
comprising apartments, retail outlets,
offices, etc.
“Overkill”, in the liabilities for noncompliance or negligence, to the tune
of thousands of Ringgit or jail terms or
both.
Restrictions in tenure of office for
members of JMBs/MCs (volunteer
parcel owners) and, in relation to
accounts, failure to comply is an offence
with liability of fines or jail term.
This will deter and aggravate existing
difficulties in finding volunteers willing
to serve. Q