Building and Common Property ( Maintenance and Management ) Bill 2006

What does it mean to us, the owners of Prima Setapak Condo? I am sure many of us are in the dark over how this bill will affect us. Does it benefit us? Does it protect our rights as property owners? Well, the answer is definitely, a big yes. I shall try to enlighten you what I know about this bill. We do not have strata-titles yet. Therefore, we cannot set up a management corporation to manage our own properties. It simply means that we do not have any management power at all. We cannot make any decisions for Prima. We can only propose and the final decision lies with the developer. The developer is the king although the properties are ours. This is where the bill comes in. The strata- titles takes years to be issued ( for some it's a life time )and this is the reason why the Bill was formulated. During the interim period, the developer shall manage our properties without any representations from the owners. This bill covers the period between the vacant possession and the issuance of strata- titles.

How does the bill affect us? Under the bill, the developer ( Kumpulan Sejahtera Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of UOA ) will have to set up a joint management committee ( JMC ) comprising reps from the developer and the owners. The JMC is the corporate body to manage our properties. The JMC will have to be set up within 12 months once the bill is passed in the parliment and gazetted . The developer will have to convene the first JMC meeting within this period, failing which they can be fined up to RM 20 000 or a jail sentence imposed. For your info, the Bill was passed in the parliment yesterday. Our power lies through our representations in the JMC. The JMC is entrusted with the power through the bill to decide everything for Prima. The days when the developer can simply increase the maintenance fees without any justification is finally over. There shall be transparency and accountablity.

The bill will also provide for a Commissioner of Buildings to administer and carry out provisions under the Act. The days when the house owners can get away by not paying maintenance fees is also over. The bill provides for a fine of RM 5 000 if we fail to pay our maintenance fees. I think this is very fair simply because our properties cannot be properly managed without insufficient fund.

I shall put up some info pertaining to the Bill on the notice board.

Goodnight and have a nice day!