By Datuk Chang Kim Loong
STRATA title is one of the title structures of ownership and control over property. It is usually applied to subdivided buildings or complexes such as high-rise buildings, town houses, duplexes, flats, apartments, condominiums and commercial buildings.
This form of title gives individual unit holders title over the space they occupy, while the land and common property are controlled by the management corporation (owners’ committee).
Strata schemes are designed to give property owners more control over the space they occupy. The structure of strata titles designates the management corporation as the owner of the land.
In the eyes of the law, the management corporation is solely responsible for matters involving legal obligations in its dealings.
For the owners, the management corporation generally takes responsibility for maintenance of the common area, insurance and/or informal mediator between residents.
Unfortunately, for many residents and owners of strata titled properties in Malaysia, many of them have not reached the stage where Management Corporation is formed.
It is not uncommon that many buyers of this type of property are not aware of the need for strata titles too.
Why is having the titles to your property important?
HBA advices house buyers to “get, keep and preserve” the strata titles to their high-rise condominium/apartment units for the following reasons:
- As ultimate proof of their property ownership. When you say you own a car, you have the registration card to prove it and there is no need for you to get the consent of the carmaker when you need to refinance or to sell the car.
- As a dealing instrument for instances of charging to banks for loans.
- One need not obtain the consent of the developer, land proprietor or liquidators who may imposed administrative charges of between 1% and 3% as their “consent fees or verification charges” or call it by whatever name, if and when you should decide to sell your property.
- To form a Management Corporation (MC) by owners of the subdivided building to maintain and manage the building and to have their own by laws, usage or restrictions. In the interim period, a Joint Management Body (JMB) does have a say in the way the building is managed or maintained, the monies collected from maintenance charges, sinking funds etc.
- As final proof of the built-up area of your unit and ultimately your apportionment of the share in the total aggregate units.
- As long as the strata titles have not been transferred, the land and the common property are still owned by the developer. Should the developer company gets liquidated or becomes insolvent before strata titles have been obtained, the unit owners will have to go through a lot of trouble, or might eventually have to pay for the application of the strata titles themselves.
Are we moving towards the right direction?
The Strata Titles Act, 1985 has been tweaked and amended on numerous occasions is the existing legislation governing stratified properties. The Malaysian strata titles legislation owes its origin to the Conveyancing (Strata Titles) Act (Cap. 277, 1970) which itself was modeled on the New South Wales Legislation.
The Strata Titles Act (STA) has been in existence for nearly 35 years. Strata properties (especially residential) have become common, so the basis of the strata title arrangement have been well-tested. It has become clear that specific problems need to be addressed in many areas.
HBA is of the opinion that we will not be well served by the recent amendments to the Act. We note that the recent amendments were purportedly to streamline the existing Act, as well as to serve as a deterrent to developers who have deliberately flouted the law by taking advantage of unsuspecting house buyers.
Only time will tell on the effectiveness of the amendments. However, Housebuyers Association (HBA) is of the opinion that it would be best to enact a new legislation which is far-sighted to reform the entire laws governing stratified properties, instead of a short-sighted and unsatisfactory “piece-meal” approach.
“Piece-meal” meaning making cosmetic changes and bits and pieces changes as and when a situation arises, in other words patch-work job. Reforms are necessary as this concerns the people’s ownership of their own homes.
Whose responsibility is it to apply for strata titles and who is monitoring?
Strata schemes are meant for owners to take charge of the maintenance and management of the common properties, and if so, due care should be given to expedite the transfer of titles to the owners for them to start learning the process.
Relevant authorities should help to give detailed guidelines on the process from; before transition from developer, during transition and the actual running of the management corporation.
Pursuant to Section 8 of the Strata Titles Act 1985, the developers are required by law to apply for the titles within six months from the date of the issue of Certificate of Fitness (CF) by the local council or such other compulsory circumstances as facilitated in the same Section of this Act.
Under Clause 10 of the then sale and purchase agreement (Schedule H), the developers are statutorily bound to apply for strata titles “expediently” at their own cost and expenses. How often has this been dealt with efficiently by the developers?
We read of warnings from all sources of charging developers in Court for not applying for the strata titles, but in reality and honestly speaking, how many developers have been charged for breaching this provision of the STA?
One can think of the various reasons on why developers do not see the urgency in applying for strata titles:
- Enforcement is slacking, and threats of charges in court has so far remain threats;
- Unless purchasers make a complaint, nobody would know if strata titles have not been applied or transferred to the owners; and etc.
The Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry administers this STA that was passed by Parliament.
A check with the Ministry reveals that unless an owner made complaints on the strata titles issues, no action will be taken. We are taken aback that there is no system to monitor the compliance of strata titles application.
The onus, it seems, is on the strata property owners to do the checking. On the same issue, no one knows exactly how many strata properties owners are still waiting for their titles.
Closing the flood gates
HBA has made several suggestions to “close the flood gate” of housing developers refusing/ neglecting/ failing to apply for strata titles and it has now become law.
These suggestions would give more protection to the purchasers and a sense of urgency to spur developers to expediently transfer the titles to the unit owners will then be created. – May 8, 2021
Datuk Chang Kim Loong is the honorary secretary general National House Buyers Association (HBA), a non-political, not-for-profit organisation manned wholly by volunteers.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
