PETALING JAYA: From run-down facilities and dirty walkways to allegations of misused management funds, the issue of poor property and building management continues to plague stratified homes in Malaysia.
With the government now mulling changes to property and building management laws, stakeholders say the focus should be on improving enforcement by the commissioner of buildings (CoB).
The new laws must improve and mandate the CoB to enforce laws under the Strata Management Act (SMA) 2013, said Datuk Theng Book, chairman of the Strata Owners Association Malaysia.
“There’s been a serious lack of enforcement by CoBs. In most cases, they will pass the buck back to management bodies.
“Management corporations (MCs) and joint management committees (JMCs) do not have the authority to enforce the laws,” he said.
This then usually leads to long-drawn-out and expensive civil court cases, he said.
Theng said the new laws must also clarify how MCs or JMCs can use maintenance funds, and standardise maintenance fee rates in the growing trend of mixed development stratified projects.
“The maintenance fee rates for residential and commercial tenants can vary wildly from project to project,” he said.
Michelle Lai, director of property management company Auntie Michelle Resources (M) Sdn Bhd, says the problem is also due to a lack of standardised enforcement and training in the industry.
“There is no consistency as different management offices enforce different rules which leads to confusion, especially for owners and investors who have units in different buildings,” said Lai.
“Many JMCs are not professionally trained and lack the capacity to manage buildings properly.”
She added that new laws should have CoBs demanding greater accountability and professionalism from JMCs and MCs.
“CoBs can perform regular transparent audits of management bodies and set clear enforcement standard operating procedures.
“They should also conduct periodic on-site inspections to assess building safety, especially for ageing properties.
“In addition, there must be a mandatory guideline for scheduled refurbishment and maintenance of property,” she added.
Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers president Ishak Ismail said any new property management laws must provide more enforcement mechanisms for management bodies.
On Tuesday, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming announced that new laws may be formulated to overcome the issue of poor management of stratified homes.
He said there was a shortage of licensed property management firms in Malaysia, with only 594 licensed firms serving 26,334 strata schemes or 2.9 million units of Malaysian strata properties.
This has led to a rise in unlicensed and unqualified property managers.
