Ratepayers left in the dark over fees paid to JMB and MC

RUBINI Lingam, 45, lives in an apartment in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur. Her monthly maintenance fees is RM700 and the sinking fund is RM45.

Despite living in a low-density development with minimal facilities, Rubini feels she may be overpaying on her service fees for her unit.

Also her requests to her joint management body (JMB) for a breakdown of the fees, including the quit rent charges, have not been entertained.

“The JMB has not answered my questions. I get the feeling that I am being overcharged on quit rent, ’’ she said.

Similarly, Cassie Lim, a lawyer who lives in a condominium in the same neighbourhood, griped that her repeated requests for the breakdown of service fees including quit rent from her JMB were consistently ignored.

She wondered if the JMB was withholding information from residents.

Lim said her JMB had been spending an exorbitant amount of money to repair facilities in the property.

“For instance, the JMB just spent RM250,000 to resurface a tennis court and another RM120,000 to fix a two-metre pipe that was leaking.

“I have friends in the construction industry; they tell me that I am being cheated, and that it costs a fraction of that amount to fix the tennis court and pipes, ” she said.

Stories of a JMB or management corporation (MC) being at loggerheads with residents over maintenance charges are common, with some residents taking their JMBs and MCs to court.

One Kuala Lumpur resident, who did not wish to be named for legal reasons, said she and several residents were currently locked in a civil suit to recover over RM10mil from their JMB.

“The JMB would lump everything into one bill. When we asked for a breakdown, they flat-out refused, ’’ she said.

It is not surprising that Rubini and Lim are also having trouble getting the desired information from their respective JMB and MC.

JMBs and MCs of stratified properties are entrusted with the power and responsibility to manage the common area of high-rises.

And part of that responsibility is to collect maintenance fees and contributions to the sinking fund.

But not many people realise that they are also entrusted with the task of collecting the quit rent (now known as parcel rent in certain states) which is then paid to the Federal Territories Land and Mines Office (PPTGWP) once a year.

Many KLites, however, are not aware of the quit rent amount they paid for their properties as this information is almost always left out of their maintenance bill.

Hence it is not surprising that some JMBs and MCs take the opportunity to mislead owners on the actual amount owing to them and tend to overcharge on the said tax.

PPTGWP director Datuk Che Roslan Che Daud said the land office had received numerous complaints about mismanagement of funds by JMBs and MCs.

He urged residents to educate themselves on their rights regarding parcel rent, which would start next year as the onus to pay the tax would now fall on residents.